V 


V  \  EDV/ARJ 

STRATEMEYER- 


\     LIBRARY    } 

UHIVt«»ITY  OF 
CAUFftftMIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


EDWARD    STRATEMEYER'S    BOOKS 
©to  ©lorg  Series 

C/0M     Illustrated     Price  per  volume  $1.25, 

UNDER    DEWEY   AT    MANILA     Or  the  War  Fortunes  of  a  Castaway. 
A    YOUNG    VOLUNTEER    IN     CUBA      Or  Fighting  for  the  Single 

Star. 

FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN  WATERS     Or  Under  Schley  on  the  Brooklyn. 
UNDER    OTIS    IN    THE    PHILIPPINES   Or  A   Young  Officer  in  the 
Tropics.     (In   Press,) 

OTfje  330untj  to  Sttrceeli  Series 

Three  volumes     Cloth     Illustrated     Prick  per  volume  $1,00. 
RICHARD    DARE'S  VENTURE     Or  Striking  Out  for  Himself. 
OLIVER    BRIGHT'S  SEARCH     Or  The  M>stery  of  a  Mine. 
TO   ALASKA    FOR    GOLD     Or  The  Fortune  Hunters  of  the  Yukon. 

(In  Press.) 

2Tf)E  Sfjip  anfc  Sfjore  Scries 

Three  volumes     Cloth     Illustrated     Price  per  volume  $1,00. 

THE  LAST  CRUISE  OF  THE  SPITFIRE     Or  Larry  Foster's  Strange 

Voyage. 
REUBEN    STONE'S    DISCOVERY     Or  The  Young  Miller  of  Torrent 

Bend. 
TRUE   TO    HIMSELF     Or   Roger   Strong's   Struggle   for   Place.     (In 

Press.) 


••TiiK  FLAGSHIP   HK(;A.\  THK   FIRING. 


FIGHTING  IN  CUBAN  WATERS 


UNDER  SCIILEY  ON  THE  BROOKLYN 


BY 


EDWARD    STRATEMEYER 

AUTHOR  OF  "UNDER  DEWEY  AT  MANILA"  "A  YOUNG  VOLUNTEER 

IN  CUBA"  "RICHARD  DARE'S  VENTURE"  "OLIVER  BKIGHT'S 

SEARCH  "   "  TO  ALASKA  FOR  GOLD  "  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 
A.   B.   SHUTE 


BOSTON 
LEE  AND   SHEPARD  PUBLISHERS 

1899 


COPYRIGHT,  1899,  BY  LEE  AND  SHEPARD. 


All  Eights  Reserved. 


FIGHTING  IN  CUBAN  WATERS. 


Nortaoot 

J.  S.  Cushinpc  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith 
Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

"  FIGHTING  IN  CUBAN  WATERS,"  although  a  com 
plete  story  in  itself,  forms  the  third  volume  of  the 
u  Old  Glory  Series,"  tales  depicting  the  various  cam 
paigns  in  our  late  war  with  Spain. 

In  "  Under  Dewey  at  Manila  "  we  followed  Larry 
Russell's  adventures  on  board  of  the  flagship  Olym- 
pia  during  the  memorable  contest  off  Cavite  ;  in 
"  A  Young  Volunteer  in  Cuba "  we  marched  and 
fought  with  Ben  Russell  in  that  notable  campaign 
leading  up  to  the  surrender  of  Santiago  ;  and  in  the 
present  volume  are  narrated  the  haps  and  mishaps 
of  Walter  Russell,  who  joins  Commodore  Schley's 
flagship,  the  Brooklyn,  and  sails  with  the  Flying 
Squadron  from  Hampton  Roads  to  Key  West,  thence 
to  Cienfuegos,  and  at  last  succeeds  in  "  bottling 
up  "  Admiral  Cervera's  fleet  in  Santiago  Bay.  The 
long  blockade  and  the  various  bombardments  are 
described,  and  then  follow  the  particulars  of  that 
masterly  battle  on  the  part  of  the  North  Atlantic 

iii 


iv  PREFACE 

Squadron  which  led  to  the  total  destruction  of  the 
Spanish  warships. 

Walter  Russell's  bravery  may  seem  overdrawn, 
but  such  is  far  from  being  a  fact.  That  our  sailors 
were  heroes  in  those  days  we  have  but  to  remember 
the  sinking  of  the  Merrimac,  the  Winsloiv  affair,  and 
a  score  of  deeds  of  equal  daring.  "  The  hour  makes 
the  man,"  and  the  opportunity  likewise  makes  the 
hero.  Walter  was  brave,  but  he  was  no  more  so 
than  hundreds  of  others  who  stood  ready  to  lay  down 
their  lives  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  for  the 
honor  of  Old  Glory.  Like  his  two  brothers,  his 
religious  belief  was  of  the  practical  kind,  and  he 
went  into  battle  convinced  that  so  long  as  he  did  his 
duty  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  an 
all- wise  and  all-powerful  Providence  would  guide 
him  and  watch  over  him. 

The  author  cannot  refrain  from  saying  a  word 
about  the  historical  portions  of  the  present  work. 
They  have  been  gleaned  from  the  best  available 
authorities,  including  the  reports  of  Admiral  Samp 
son,  Commodore  Schley,  and  a  number  of  captains 
who  took  part  in  the  contest ;  also  the  personal 
narratives  of  one  man  who  was  on  board  the  Merri- 
mac  at  the  time  that  craft  was  sunk,  and  of  a 


number  who  have  made  the  Brooklyn  their  home  for 
several  years  past,  and  who  will  probably  remain 
on  the  pride  of  the  Flying  Squadron  for  some  time 
to  come. 

In  presenting  this  third  volume,  the  author  begs 
to  thank  both  critics  and  the  public  for  the  cordial 
reception  accorded  to  the  previous  volumes,  and 
trusts  that  the  present  story  will  meet  with  equal 

commendation. 

EDWARD   STRATEMEYER. 

NEWARK,  N.J., 

March  1,  1899. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  WALTER  DETERMINES  TO  ENTER  THE  NAVY    .  1 

II.  A  VISIT  TO  THE  NAVY-YARD    ....  14 

III.  A  CHASE  AND  ITS  RESULT         ....  28 

IV.  ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  "  BROOKLYN  "        .        .42 
V.  SOMETHING  ABOUT  WAR  AND  PRIZE  MONEY  .  55 

VI.  A  GLIMPSE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT          ...  68 

VII.  A  TALK  ABOUT  SPANISH  SAILORS      ...  82 

VIII.  THE  MEN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS     ....  95 

IX.  COMMODORE  WINFIELD  SCOTT  SCHLEY  .  .  108 

X.  WALTER  SHOWS  HIS  PLUCK  ....  121 

XL  THE  SAILING  OF  THE  FLYING  SQUADRON  .  133 

XII.  AN  ADVENTURE  OFF  CHARLESTON  .  .  .  143 

XIII.  IN  WHICH  THE  GOLD  PIECE  COMES  TO  LIGHT  154 

XIV.  KEY  WEST,  AND  THE  LAST  OF  JIM  HASKETT  164 
XV.  FROM  CIENFUEGOS  TO  SANTIAGO  BAY     .        .  174 

XVI.  THE  FINDING  OF  ADMIRAL  CERVERA'S  FLEET  184 

XVII.  IN  WHICH  THE  "  MERRIMAC  "  is  SUNK     .        .  194 


Vlii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVIII.  WALTER'S  ADVENTURE  ON  SHORE          .        .  204 

XIX.  CARLOS,  THE  REBEL  SPY         ....  215 

XX.  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  ENEMY     .        .        .  223 

XXI.  THE  FLIGHT  TO  THE  SEACOAST     .        .        .  232 

XXII.  THE  LANDING  OF  THE  MARINES  AT  GUAN- 

TANAMO        . 243 

XXIII.  IN  A  SPANISH  PRISON 251 

XXIV.  BACK  TO  THE  "  BROOKLYN  "  AGAIN       .        .  202 
XXV.  THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF  THE  SANTIAGO  BAT 
TERIES  272 

XXVI.  IN  WHICH  THE  ARMY  OF  INVASION  ARRIVES  282 

XXVII.  THE  SPANISH   FLEET  AND  ITS  COMMANDER  294 

XXVIII.  "  THE  ENEMY  is  ESCAPING  !  "         .        .        .304 

XXIX.  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  SPANISH  FLEET  315 

XXX.  FINAL  SCENES  OF  THE  GREAT  FIGHT   .        .  320 

XXXI.  TOGETHER  ONCE  MORE  —  CONCLUSION.  335 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

"  The  flagship  began  the  firing  "...        Frontispiece 

PAGE 

"  He  bent  over  Walter  again  " 35 

"  The  President  bowed  in  return  " 80 

"  '  See  here,  I  want  to  talk  to  you  '" 116 

"  '  I'll  get  square  on  all  of  you  1  " 166 

"  With  a  final  lurch  the  Merrimac  went  down  "          .         .  205 

"  '  Surrender,  or  I'll  shoot  you  where  you  stand  ! '  "  .         .  234 

"  Rammer  in  hand,  Walter  edged  close  to  the  muzzle  "     .  327 


FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATEKS 

CHAPTER   I 

-    WALTER    DETERMINES    TO    ENTER    THE   NAVY 

"  WELL,  Walter,  I  suppose  the  newspapers  are 
going  like  hot  cakes  this  morning." 

"  They  are,  Mr.  Newell.  Everybody  wants  the 
news.  I  ran  out  of  '  Globes  '  and  '  Heralds  '  before 
seven  o'clock,  and  sent  Dan  down  for  fifty  more 
of  each." 

"  That  was  right.  It's  a  windfall  for  us  news 
dealers,  as  well  as  a  glorious  victory  to  match.  It 
makes  me  think  of  my  old  war  days,  when  I  was 
aboard  of  the  Carondelet  under  Captain  Walke. 
We  didn't  sink  so  many  ships  as  Dewey  has  at 
Manila,  but  we  sank  some,  and  smashed  many  a 
shore  battery  in  the  bargain,  along  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi.  What  does  that  extra  have  to 
say  ? "  and  Phil  Newell,  the  one-legged  civil-war 
naval  veteran,  who  was  also  proprietor  of  the 

1 


2  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

news-stand,  took  the  sheet  which  Walter  Russell, 
his  clerk,  handed  out. 

"  There  is  not  much  additional  news  as  yet,"' 
answered  Walter.  "  One  of  the  sensational  papers 
has  it  that  Dewey  is  now  bombarding  Manila,  but 
the  news  is  not  confirmed.  But  it  is  true  that 
our  squadron  sunk  every  one  of  the  Spanish  war 
ships,  —  and  that,  I  reckon,  is  enough  for  one 
victory." 

"  True,  my  lad,  true  ;  but  there  is  nothing  like 
keeping  at  'em,  when  you  have  'em  on  the  run. 
That  is  the  way  we  did  down  South.  Perhaps 
Dewey  is  waiting  for  additional  instructions  from 
Washington.  I  hope  he  didn't  suffer  much  of  a 
loss.  Some  papers  say  he  came  off  scot  free,  but 
that  seems  too  good  to  be  true." 

"  The  news  makes  me  feel  more  than  ever  like 
enlisting,"  continued  the  boy,  after  a  pause,  during 
which  he  served  out  half  a  dozen  newspapers  to 
as  many  customers.  "  What  a  glorious  thing  it 
must  be  to  fight  like  that  and  come  out  on  top  !  " 

"  Glorious  doesn't  express  it,  Walter.  Why,  if 
it  wasn't  for  this  game  leg  of  mine,  and  my  age 
being  against  me,  I'd  go  over  to  the  navy-yard 
to-day  and  reenlist,  keelhaul  me  if  I  wouldn't !  " 


WALTER    DETERMINES    TO    ENTER    THE   NAVY        3 

"But  what  of  the  stand?" 

"The  stand  could  take  care  of  itself  —  until  the 
Dons  were  given  the  thrashing  they  deserve  for 
making  the  Cubans  suffer  beyond  all  reason." 
Phil  Newell  threw  back  his  head  and  gave  a 
laugh.  "  That  puts  me  in  mind  of  something  that 
happened  when  the  Civil  War  started.  A  young 
lawyer  in  New  York  locked  up  his  office  and 
pasted  a  notice  on  his  door  :  '  Gone  to  the  front. 
Will  be  back  when  the  war  is  over.'  I'd  have  to 
put  up  something  similar,  wouldn't  I  ? " 

"I  wish  you  and  I  could  go  together,  Mr.  Newell." 

"  So  do  I,  Walter,  but  I'm  over  sixty  now,  and 
they  want  young  blood.  By  the  way,  what  of 
that  brother  of  yours  down  in  New  York  ?  " 

"  Ben  has  joined  the  militia  of  that  State,  and 
is  now  at  Camp  Black  waiting  to  be  sworn  into 
the  United  States  service.  I  wish  he  had  come  on 
to  Boston." 

"  Well,  Uncle  Sam  wants  soldiers  as  well  as 
sailors,  or  he  wouldn't  call  for  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  volunteers.  But  give  me 
the  deck  or  gun-room  of  a  warship  every  time. 
Nothing  finer  in  the  world.  I  served  for  nearly 
ten  years,  and  I  know." 


4  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

Walter  smiled,  and  then  waited  on  several 
additional  customers.  "  My  youngest  brother, 
Larry,  takes  to  the  ocean,"  he  answered.  "  He 
is  out  on  the  Pacific  now,  somewhere  between  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  and  Hong  Kong.  He  was  al 
ways  crazy  for  a  boat  when  we  were  at  home  in 
Buffalo  together,  and  spent  all  his  spare  time  on 
Lake  Erie." 

"  Going  to  Hong  Kong,  eh  ?  That's  not  so  far 
from  the  Philippines.  It  is  a  pity  he  is  not  with 
Commodore  Dewey.  It  would  be  a  feather  in  his 
cap  when  he  got  home." 

A  steady  stream  of  customers  for  five  minutes 
broke  off  the  conversation  at  this  point,  and  throw 
ing  down  his  newspaper,  Phil  Newell  —  he  never 
wanted  to  be  called  Philip  —  entered  the  stand  to 
help  his  young  assistant.  The  stand  was  situated 
in  the  heart  of  Boston,  just  outside  of  one  of  the 
leading  hotels,  and  trade  at  this  hour  in  the  morn 
ing,  eight  o'clock,  was  always  brisk. 

When  there  came  a  lull  later  on,  Walter  turned 
again  to  his  employer.  "  Mr.  Newell,  what  if  I 
do  enlist?  Can  you  spare  me?"  he  questioned. 

"What!  do  you  really  mean  it,  Walter?" 

"  I  do,  sir.     As    you   know,    I've   been  thinking 


WALTEli    DETERMINES    TO    ENTER    THE    NAVY       5 

the  matter  over  ever  since  this  war  with  Spain 
started." 

"  But  you've  got  to  have  your  guardian's  con 
sent,  or  they  won't  take  you." 

"  I've  got  it  in  my  pocket  now.  I  wrote  to  him 
last  week,  and  he  answered  that,  as  Ben  had  al 
ready  joined  the  soldiers,  I  could  do  as  I  pleased, 
but  I  mustn't  blame  him  if  I  was  killed." 

"  Which  you  wouldn't  be  likely  to  do,  if  you 
were  killed  dead,  so  to  speak,"  laughed  Phil  Newell. 
Then  he  slapped  Walter  on  the  back,  for  twenty 
odd  years  on  land  had  not  taken  his  "  sea-dog " 
manners  from  him.  "  Enlist,  my  lad,  enlist  by  all 
means,  if  you  feel  it  your  duty.  Of  course  I  don't 
like  to  lose  such  a  handy  clerk,  but  Uncle  Sam  can 
have  you  and  welcome." 

"  Didn't  you  say  there  was  a  young  man  named 
Gimpwell  looking  for  this  position  ?  " 

"Yes,  and  he  wants  it  badly,  for  he  has  a  sick 
sister  to  support." 

"  Has  he  any  experience  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  he  tended  a  railroad  stand  for  several 
years." 

"Then,  perhaps  you  could  break  him  in  with 
out  much  trouble  —  if  I  went  away." 


6  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Do  you  want  to  go  at  once  ?  " 

"  If  I  am  to  enlist,  then  it  seems  to  me  the 
quicker  the  better.  I  see  by  the  papers  that  some 
of  our  warships  are  still  at  Hampton  Roads  and 
Key  West,  but  there  is  no  telling  when  they  will 
start  for  Cuban  waters.  Besides,  I've  been  think 
ing  that  if  I  could  manage  it,  I  should  like  to  get 
aboard  of  the  Brooklyn,  the  flagship  of  Commodore 
Schley's  Flying  Squadron,  which  is  now  at  Hamp 
ton  Roads  awaiting  orders." 

"It's   not   so   easy   to   pick   your   ship,    my   lad. 
However,  if  you  wish,  you  can  go  over  to  the  navy- 
yard   this  afternoon  and  see  what   you   can  do,  — 
and  I'll  go  along  and  leave  Dan  in  charge  here," 
concluded  Phil  Newell. 

Walter  Russell  was  one  of  three  brothers,  of 
whom  Ben  was  the  eldest  and  Larry  the  youngest. 
Their  home  had  been  in  Buffalo,  where  at  the  death 
of  their  mother,  a  widow,  they  had  been  turned 
over  to  the  care  of  their  step-uncle,  Mr.  Job 
Dowling,  an  eccentric  old  bachelor,  whose  prime 
object  in  life  was  to  hoard  up  money. 

In  the  two  volumes  previous  to  this,  entitled 
respectively,  "Under  Dewey  at  Manila,"  and  "A 
Young  Volunteer  in  Cuba,"  I  related  how  the  boys 


WALTER    DETERMINES    TO    ENTER    THE    NAVY       7 

found  it  impossible  to  remain  under  Job  Bowling's 
roof,  and  how  they  ran  away,  each  to  seek  fortune 
as  he  might  find  it.  Larry  drifted  first  to  San 
Francisco  and  then  to  Honolulu,  the  principal  city 
of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  where  he  shipped  on  a 
vessel  bound  for  Hong  Kong.  From  this  ship  he 
was  cast  overboard  with  a  Yankee  friend  named 
Luke  Striker,  and  both  were  picked  up  by  the 
flagship  Olympia  of  the  Asiatic  Squadron  and  taken 
to  Manila  Bay,  there  to  serve  most  gallantly  under 
the  naval  commander  whose  name  has  since  be 
come  a  household  word  everywhere.  As  Walter 
had  intimated,  Larry  was  a  sailor  by  nature,  and 
it  was  likely  that  he  would  follow  the  sea  as  long 
as  he  lived. 

Ben  and  Walter  had  gone  eastward,  but  at 
Middletown,  in  New  York  State,  they  had  sepa 
rated,  Walter  to  drift  to  Boston,  and  Ben  to  make 
his  way  to  New  York.  At  the  latter  city  the 
eldest  of  the  Russell  brothers  had  secured  employ 
ment  in  a  hardware  establishment,  but  this  place 
was  burned  out,  and  then  Ben  enlisted  in  the 
71st  Regiment  of  New  York,  while  his  intimate 
friend,  Gilbert  Pennington,  joined  Roosevelt's 
Rough  Riders,  and  both  went  to  Cuba,  there  to 


8  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

fight  valorously  in  that  campaign  which  led  to  the 
surrender  of  Santiago  and  caused  Spain  to  sue  for 
peace. 

As  Walter  had  written  to  Larry,  the  recital  of 
the  former's  adventures  in  getting  from  Middle- 
town  to  Boston  would  fill  a  volume.  He  had  stolen 
a  ride  on  the  cars  from  Middletown  to  Albany, 
and  during  this  wild  trip  his  hat  blew  off  and 
was  not  recovered.  He  was  put  off  the  train  just 
outside  of  the  capital  city;  and,  stopping  at  a 
farmhouse  to  inquire  the  way,  had  his  clothing 
torn  by  a  bull-dog  that  was  more  than  anxious  to 
get  at  what  was  beneath  the  garments.  Walter 
hardly  knew  what  to  do,  when  a  tramp  put  in  an 
appearance,  and  sent  a  well-directed  stone  at  the 
dog's  head,  causing  the  beast  to  slink  away.  The 
tramp  introduced  himself  as  Raymond  Cass,  a  brick 
layer,  out  of  luck,  and  bound  for  Boston  on  foot. 
He  proposed  that  they  journey  together,  and  Walter 
rather  hesitatingly  consented.  They  moved  east 
ward  in  company  for  two  days,  when,  on  awaken 
ing  one  morning,  Walter  found  Raymond  Cass 
missing.  The  boy's  coat  was  also  gone,  and  with 
it  his  entire  capital,  — forty-seven  cents. 

The  pair  had  made  their  bed  in  the  haymow  of 


WALTER    DETERMINES    TO    ENTER   THE   NAVY  .     9 

a  large  barn,  and  while  Walter  was  searching  for 
the  tramp,  the  owner  of  the  place  came  up  and 
demanded  to  know  what  the  youth  was  doing  on 
his  premises.  Walter's  tale  was  soon  told,  and 
Farmer  Hardell  agreed  to  give  him  a  week's  work 
in  his  dairy,  one  of  the  dairymen  being  sick.  For 
this  Walter  received  four  dollars,  and  an  old  hat 
and  a  coat  in  addition. 

Leaving  Cornberry,  the  name  of  the  hamlet, 
Walter  had  struck  out  once  more  for  Boston,  but 
this  time  steering  clear  of  all  tramps,  of  the  Ray 
mond  Cass  type  or  otherwise.  He  was  sparing  of 
his  money,  and  the  first  day  out  earned  his  dinner 
and  a  packed-up  lunch  for  supper,  by  putting  in 
two  panes  of  glass  for  an  old  lady  who  had  waited 
for  a  week  for  a  travelling  glazier  to  come  around 
and  do  the  job.  In  addition  to  this,  the  lad 
worked  for  two  days  at  a  village  blacksmith's  es 
tablishment  during  the  absence  of  the  regular  helper 
who  had  gone  to  his  aunt's  funeral  in  another  place, 
and  also  found  a  regular  position  with  a  florist, 
who  had  a  number  of  large  greenhouses  up  the 
Charles  River.  Walter  was  not  used  to  working 
where  there  was  so  much  glass,  and  on  the  third 
day  he  allowed  a  step-ladder  he  was  using  to  slip. 


10  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

The  ladder  crashed  through  several  hot-bed  frames, 
and  poor  Walter  was  discharged  on  the  spot,  with 
out  a  cent  of  pay. 

The  boy's  next  move  had  been  to  the  river, 
where  he  had  obtained  a  position  on  a  freight 
steamboat.  His  duty  was  to  truck  freight  on  and 
off,  and  the  work  blistered  his  hands  and  gave 
him  many  a  backache.  But  he  stuck  to  it  for  two 
weeks,  thereby  earning  fourteen  dollars,  and  with 
this  capital  entered  Boston. 

Walter  had  not  expected  an  easy  time  finding  a 
situation  in  the  Hub,  but  neither  had  he  antici 
pated  the  repeated  failures  that  one  after  another 
stared  him  in  the  face.  For  over  a  week  he 
tramped  up  and  down,  without  so  much  as  a 
"  smell  of  an  opening,"  as  he  afterwards  wrote  to 
his  brothers.  In  the  meanwhile  his  money  dimin 
ished  rapidly,  until  more  than  two-thirds  of  it 
was  gone. 

A  deed  of  kindness  had  obtained  for  him  the 
position  with  Phil  Newell.  Chancing  to  walk 
along  School  Street  one  afternoon,  he  had  seen  two 
boys  beating  a  small  boy  unmercifully.  The  small 
boy  had  turned  into  Province  Street,  and  the  big 
boys  had  followed,  and  here  they  had  thrown  the 


WALTER    DETERMINES    TO    ENTER    THE    NAVY       11 

little  fellow  down,  and  were  on  the  point  of  kick 
ing  him,  when  AV alter  rushed  up  and  flung  both 
back.  "  You  brutes,  to  attack  such  a  small  boy  !  " 
lie  had  cried.  "  Clear  out,  or  I'll  call  a  policeman, 
and  have  you  both  locked  up." 

"  We  told  him  to  keep  back  at  de  newspaper 
office,"  growled  one  of  the  big  fellows.  "  Do  it 
again,  Dan  Brown,  and  we'll  give  it  to  you  worse," 
and  then  as  Walter  advanced  once  more,  both 
took  to  their  heels  and  disappeared. 

Dan  Brown  had  been  very  grateful,  and  ques 
tionings  had  elicited  the  information  that  the  lad 
worked  for  Phil  Newell,  as  a  paper  carrier  and  to 
do  errands.  "His  regular  clerk,  Dick  Borden,  left 
yesterday,"  Dan  had  continued;  "perhaps  you  can 
get  the  job."  And  Walter  had  lost  no  time  in  follow 
ing  the  small  youth  to  Newell's  place  of  business. 
Here  Dan's  story  was  told,  and  the  lad  put  in  a 
good  word  for  Walter,  with  the  result  that  the 
youth  was  taken  for  a  week  on  trial.  How  well 
Walter  pleased  the  old  naval  veteran  we  have 
already  seen.  He  had  now  occupied  the  place  as 
head  clerk  for  nearly  two  months,  and  his  salary 
had  been  increased  from  four  dollars  a  week  to 
six.  He  boarded  with  Dan's  mother,  in  a  little 


12  FIGHTING   IN  CUBAN  WATERS 

suite  of  rooms  on  a  modest  side  street,  not  a  great 
distance  from  the  Common. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Job  Dowling,  who 
held  a  good  deal  of  money  in  trust  for  the  boys, 
had  allowed  them  to  run  off  without  making  an 
effort  to  bring  them  back.  Larry  was  out  of  his 
reach,  but  Ben  and  Walter  were  not,  and  the 
miserly  man  had  descended  upon  Ben  in  New 
York  and  tried  his  best  to  "  make  things  warm," 
as  Ben  had  mentioned  in  a  letter  to  Larry.  But 
Job  Dowling  had  overreached  himself  by  attempt 
ing  to  sell  a  watch  and  some  jewelry  which  had 
belonged  originally  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell,  heir 
looms  which  were  not  to  be  disposed  of  under 
any  circumstances.  On  his  trip  to  New  York 
after  Ben,  the  articles  had  been  stolen  from  him  at 
the  Post-office  —  something  that  had  so  frightened 
Job  Dowling  that  he  had  consented  to  Ben's  en 
listing  in  the  army  with  scarcely  a  murmur,  fear 
ful  the  youth  might  otherwise  have  him  brought 
to  book  for  what  had  happened.  A  vigorous 
search  had  been  made  for  the  thief,  but  he  was 
not  found.  Later  on,  when  Ben  was  in  the  army, 
Job  Dowling  received  information  that  caused  him 
to  reach  the  conclusion  that  the  thief  had  gone 


"WALTER  DETERMINES  TO  ENTEE  THE  NAVY   13 

to  Boston.  The  miserly  guardian  of  the  boys 
returned  to  his  home  in  Buffalo  and,  as  much 
worried  as  ever,  wrote  to  Walter  to  keep  an  eye 
open  for  the  missing  property.  Walter  did  as  re 
quested,  but  in  such  a  large  place  as  the  Hub 
the  youth  had  little  hope  of  ever  seeing  the 
precious  heirlooms  again. 


CHAPTER  II 

A   VISIT   TO   THE    NAVY-YAHD 

THERE  was  a  rush  of  business  at  the  news-stand 
between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  but  shortly  after 
one  this  died  away,  and  inside  of  half  an  hour 
Phil  Newell  told  Walter  that  they  might  be  on 
their  way  — "  If  you  are  bound  to  enlist  in  Uncle 
Sam's  service,"  he  added. 

Walter  made  sure  that  the  paper  containing  Job 
Bowling's  permission  for  him  to  enter  the  navy 
was  safe  in  his  coat  pocket,  and  then  announced 
his  readiness  to  depart.  The  owner  of  the  stand 
called  up  Dan  Brown  and  gave  him  a  few  direc 
tions,  and  in  another  minute  Newell  and  Walter 
had  boarded  a  Charlestown  car  and  were  off. 

"  I  haven't  been  over  to  the  navy-yard  for  sev 
eral  years,"  remarked  Phil  Newell,  as  they  rode 
along.  "I  used  to  know  several  of  the  boys  that 
were  there,  but  they've  grown  too  old  for  the 
service.  I  reckon  the  yard  is  a  busy  place  these 
days." 

14 


A   VISIT   TO   THE  NAVY-YARD  15 

And  a  busy  place  it  proved  to  be  as  they  turned 
into  Chelsea  Street,  and  moved  along  the  solid 
granite  wall  which  separates  the  yard  from  the 
public  thoroughfare.  From  beyond  came  the  creak 
ing  of  hoists,  and  the  ringing  of  countless  hammers 
and  anvils,  for  the  government  employees  were 
hard  at  work,  fitting  out  a  warship  or  two  and 
converting  several  private  vessels  into  naval  craft. 

"  I  don't  know  if  I'm  just  right  about  this," 
went  on  Phil  Newell,  as  they  headed  for  one  of 
the  numerous  buildings  near  the  wall,  after  being 
passed  by  a  guard.  "  It  may  be  that  they  want 
to  keep  strangers  out,  now  the  war  is  on,  and 
you'll  have  to  go  elsewhere  to  sign  articles.  But 
I  know  old  Caleb  Walton  is  here,  and  he'll  tell 
me  all  lie  can,  and  set  us  straight." 

Walter's  heart  beat  violently,  for  he  began  to 
realize  that  the  step  he  was  about  to  take  was  a 
serious  one.  Who  knew  but  that,  after  getting 
into  the  navy,  he  might  be  sent  to  the  Philippines 
or  to  the  coast  of  Spain  ?  Already  there  was 
some  talk  of  carrying  the  war  into  the  enemy's 
home  Avaters. 

"  But  I  don't  care,"  he  said  to  himself.  "  If 
Larry  can  ship  for  Hong  Kong,  I  guess  I'm  safe 


16  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

in  shipping  to  anywhere.  But  I  do  hope  I  can 
get  on  the  Brooklyn,  or  on  some  other  ship  of  the 
Flying  Squadron." 

"Hi,  there,  Phil  Newell  I  What  brought  you 
here,  you  old  landlubber  ? "  came  a  cry  from  their 
left,  and  Phil  Newell  turned  as  swiftly  as  his 
wooden  leg  permitted,  to  find  himself  confronted 
by  the  very  individual  he  had  started  out  to  find. 

"  Caleb  Walton  ! "  he  ejaculated  joyfully,  and 
held  out  his  bronzed  hand.  "  I  just  came  in  to 
see  you.  Here  is  a  young  friend  of  mine  who 
wants  to  sign  articles  under  Uncle  Sam.  Do  you 
think  you  can  take  him  in  ?  " 

"Take  him  in?"  Caleb  Walton  held  out  his 
hand,  brown  and  as  tough  as  a  piece  of  leather. 
"  Sure  we  can  take  him  in,  if  he's  sound,  —  and 
glad  to  get  him."  He  gave  Walter's  hand  a  grip 
that  made  every  bone  crack.  "  So  you  want  to 
enlist,  eh  ?  Go  right  over  to  3ronder  office,  and 
they'll  soon  put  you  through  a  course  of  sprouts," 
and  he  laughed  good-naturedly. 

"  But,  hold  on,  Caleb,"  interposed  Newell,  as  the 
seaman  was  about  to  show  Walter  the  way.  "  He 
don't  want  to  sign  articles  and  go  just  anywhere. 
He  would  like  to  get  aboard  the  Brooklyn." 


A    VISIT   TO    THE    NAVY-YARD  17 

"  That  is  what  half  of  all  who  come  here  want," 
answered  Caleb  Walton.  "  I  reckon  they  think 
Commodore  Schley's  Flying  Squadron  is  going 
to  settle  the  whole  war  by  going  after  that  Span 
ish  fleet  said  to  be  at  Cadiz,  or  thereabouts. 
Well,  the  lad  better  come  with  me.  I  belong  to 
the  Brooklyn  now." 

"  You !  "  came  from  both  Phil  Newell  and  Wal 
ter  simultaneously. 

"  I  thought  you  were  stationed  here  ? "  con 
tinued  the  wooden-legged  man. 

"I  was,  but  I've  just  received  orders  to  join 
the  Brooklyn  and  bring  at  least  fifteen  men  with 
me.  It  seems  they  are  short-handed  and  can't 
get  the  men  at  Norfolk.  If  this  lad  wants  to 
go  with  me,  now  is  his  chance.  What's  his 
handle  ?  " 

"  My  name  is  Walter  Russell,  sir.  But  —  but 
are  you  going  to  join  the  Brooklyn  at  once  ? " 
stammered  Walter,  never  having  dreamed  that 
he  would  be  taken  away  on  the  spot. 

"  Uncle  Sam  doesn't  wait  long  when  he  picks 
his  man,"  replied  the  old  gunner,  for  such  Caleb 
Walton  was.  "Orders  were  to  leave  Boston  to 
night,  but  I  fancy  we'll  be  kept  until  to-morrow 


18  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

night,  for  we  are  shy  three  men,  not  counting 
you.  Come  on."  And  he  led  the  way  to  the 
building  he  had  previously  pointed  out. 

"  He's  all  right,  and  you're  in  luck,"  whispered 
Phil  Newell,  when  he  got  the  chance.  "  Cotton 
to  Caleb  Walton,  and  you'll  have  a  friend  worth 
the  making."  How  true  were  Newell's  words  the 
chapters  to  follow  will  prove. 

The  building  to  which  Caleb  Walton  led  them 
was  one  in  which  were  situated  the  main  business 
offices  of  the  yard.  This  was  now  a  busy  place, 
and  they  had  to  fairly  push  their  way  through 
the  crowd  of  seamen,  officers,  and  workmen,  who 
kept  coming  and  going,  on  one  errand  or  another. 
Several  telephones  were  ringing,  and  from  a  cor 
ner  came  the  steady  click-click  of  a  telegraph 
sounder. 

"  Uncle  Sam  has  his  shirt  sleeves  rolled  up  and 
is  pitching  in,"  whispered  Caleb  Walton.  "  Here 
we  are.  Captain  Line,  here  is  another  man  for 
my  party." 

"  He's  rather  a  boy,"  rejoined  Captain  Line,  as 
he  gave  Walter  a  searching  glance.  "  Is  your 
father  with  you  ?  " 

"  My  father   is   dead,"  answered  Walter,  softly. 


A   VISIT   TO    THE   NAVY-YAKD  19 

"Here  is  my  guardian's  consent."  And  he  handed 
over  the  sheet. 

"  That  seems  to  be  correct.  Walton,  take  him 
over  to  the  examination  room.  And  hurry  up, 
for  I  must  catch  the  four-fifty  train  for  New 
York." 

The  "  course  of  sprouts "  had  begun,  and  almost 
before  he  knew  it,  Walter  had  been  passed  upon 
as  able-bodied.  Time  was  pressing,  and  in  a  quar 
ter  of  an  hour  the  youth  received  a  slip  of  paper 
signed  and  sealed  by  Captain  Line. 

"  That  is  good  for  your  passage  to  Fortress 
Monroe,"  he  said.  "  You  will  make  the  journey 
in  company  with  Walton  and  a  number  of  others. 
When  you  get  there  you  will  report  to  Lieu 
tenant  Lee,  who  will  have  you  transferred  to  the 
Brooklyn,  —  unless  the  flagship  has  already  sailed, 
in  which  case  you  will  be  assigned  to  some 
other  ship." 

"And  when  do  I  start,  sir?" 

"  Walton  will  have  the  orders  inside  of  the 
next  hour.  Go  with  him,  and  he  will  tell  you 
what  to  do."  Then  came  a  bang  of  the  curtain 
to  a  roller-top  desk,  a  shoving  back  of  a  revolv 
ing  chair,  and  in  a  twinkle  Captain  Line  had  dis- 


20  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

appeared  from  view.  Truly,  Uncle  Sam  and  all 
under  him  were  rushing  things. 

Walter  wished  very  much  to  visit  the  dry  dock 
and  the  great  west  basin,  filled  as  both  were  with 
vessels  in  various  stages  of  construction,  altera 
tion,  or  repair,  but  he  felt  if  he  was  to  leave  that 
night  he  must  be  getting  back  to  Boston  and  to 
his  boarding-house,  to  pack  his  "ditty  box,"  as 
Phil  Newell  had  dubbed  his  valise,  for  all  such 
receptacles  are  called  ditty  boxes  in  the  navy. 

"  All  right,  Walter,  you  go  ahead,"  said  Newell. 
I'll  stay  with  Caleb  and  let  you  know  just  when 
you  are  to  leave,  so  you  won't  be  left  behind." 
And  in  a  moment  more  the  youth  had  run  out  of 
the  navy-yard  and  was  on  board  of  another  car. 
He  made  one  transfer,  and  in  less  than  half  an 
hour  entered  Mrs.  Brown's  home. 

"Why,  Mr.  Russell,  what  brings  you?"  queried 
Dan's  mother,  surprised  at  his  appearance,  for  he 
rarely  showed  himself  during  the  day  excepting 
at  the  dinner  and  the  supper  hours. 

"  I've  enlisted,  Mrs.  Brown,  and  I'm  to  get  off 
to-night  or  to-morrow,"  he  answered.  "  You  can 
let  Mr.  Keefe  have  my  room  now.  I'm  glad  that 
it  won't  be  left  empty  on  your  hands." 


A    VISIT   TO    THE   NAVY-YARD  21 

"  So  am  I,  Mr.  Russell,  for  a  poor  widow  can't 
afford  to  have  a  room  vacant  long,"  replied 
Mrs.  Brown,  with  a  faint  smile.  "  So  you  have 
really  entered  the  navy?  Well,  I  wish  you  all 
the  luck  in  the  world,  and  I  hope  you  will  come 
out  of  the  war  a  —  a  —  commodore,  or  something 
like  that."  And  she  wrung  his  hand. 

Walter's  belongings  were  few,  and  soon  packed 
away  in  his  valise.  Then  he  ran  downstairs 
again  and  bid  Mrs.  Brown  good-by  and  settled 
up  with  her.  "I'll  write  to  you  and  Dan  some 
time,"  he  said,  on  parting. 

"  Well,  did  you  make  it  ?  "  was  Dan's  question, 
when  Walter  appeared  at  the  news-stand. 

"I  did,  Dan."  And  the  protege  of  Uncle  Sam 
told  his  youthful  friend  the  particulars. 

"  I'm  glad  you  got  on  the  Brooklyn"  said  Dan, 
with  a  shake  of  his  curly  head.  "She's  going  to 
lick  the  Spaniards  out  of  their  boots,  see  if  she 
ain't  !  "  And  his  earnestness  made  Walter  laugh. 
Dan  was  but  eleven,  yet  he  read  the  newspapers 
as  closely  as  do  many  grown  folks. 

The  afternoon  papers  were  now  coming  in  and 
trade  picked  up,  so  that  Walter  had  to  help 
behind  the  counter.  While  he  was  at  \vork  a 


22  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

tall,  thin  boy  sauntered  up  and  gazed  at  him 
doubtfully. 

"  That's  George  Gimpwell,"  whispered  Dan. 
"  Didn't  the  boss  say  something  about  hiring 
him  ?  " 

"He  did,  Dan.     Call  him  over." 

The  errand  boy  did  so.  "  Russell  wants  to  see 
you,"  he  explained. 

"  I  believe  you  were  speaking  to  Mr.  Newell 
about  this  situation,"  began  Walter. 

"  Well  —  er  —  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  open 
ing.  I  want  work  the  worst  way,"  sighed  George 
Gimpwell.  "  Of  course,  I  don't  want  to  do  you 
out  of  your  job." 

"  That's  all  right ;  I've  just  enlisted  in  the 
navy,"  replied  Walter,  and  he  could  not  help  but 
feel  proud  over  the  words.  "  So  if  you  want  this 
situation,  you  had  best  remain  around  here  until 
Mr.  Newell  gets  back." 

"I  will."  George  Gimpwell's  face  brightened. 
"  So  you've  enlisted  ?  I  wanted  to  do  that,  but  I 
was  too  tall  for  my  weight,  so  they  told  me." 

"  So  you've  enlisted  ? "  broke  in  a  gentleman 
standing  by.  "  Glad  to  hear  it,  young  man ;  it 
does  you  credit."  And  buying  a  magazine,  lie 


A   VISIT   TO    THE   NAVY-YARD  23 

caught  Walter  by  the  hand  and  wished  him  well. 
Soon  it  became  noised  around  on  the  block  that 
Newell's  clerk  was  going  to  join  the  Brooklyn, 
and  half  a  dozen,  including  the  clerk  of  the 
hotel,  came  out  to  see  him  about  it.  In  those 
days,  anybody  connected  with  our  army  or  navy 
was  quite  a  hero,  and  somebody  to  be  looked  up 
to,  people  unconsciously  told  themselves. 

It  was  after  seven  o'clock,  and  Walter  was 
wondering  if  anything  unusual  had  delayed  his 
employer,  when  Phil  Newell  hove  into  appearance. 
"  It's  all  right,  my  lad,  don't  worry,"  he  said  at 
once.  "  You  don't  leave  until  to-morrow  noon. 
You  are  to  meet  Caleb  Walton  at  the  New  York 
and  New  England  railroad  depot  at  exactly  eleven 
o'clock,  and  all  of  the  others  of  the  crowd  are  to 
be  there  too.  The  government  wants  to  get  you 
down  to  Norfolk  as  soon  as  it  can,  and  will, 
consequently,  send  you  by  rail  instead  of  by 
water." 

"  Hurrah !  that  will  make  a  jolly  trip,"  cried 
Walter.  "  If  only  I  could  stop  off  at  New  York, 
take  a  run  out  to  Camp  Black,  and  see  Ben." 

"  I  doubt  if  you'll  be  given  time  to  stop  any 
where,  time  seems  to  be  so  precious.  Caleb  Wai- 


24  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

ton    thinks   the   Flying    Squadron  will    up  anchors 
before  another  week  is  out." 

"  Well,   I  don't  care  how  quickly   they  leave  — 
after    I   am    on   board,"    laughed   the  youth,   much 
relieved    that    nothing    had   occurred   whereby    he 
had  been  left  behind. 

George  Gimpwell  now  came  up  again,  and  soon 
he  was  engaged  to  take  Walter's  place.  Phil 
Newell  promised  him  five  dollars  weekly,  and  as 
Walter  had  gotten  six,  the  good-hearted  news 
dealer  put  the  extra  dollar  on  Dan's  salary,  much 
to  that  lad's  delight. 

Eight  o'clock  found  Walter  at  the  stand  alone, 
and  it  was  then  that  he  penned  the  letter  mailed 
to  Ben,  as  mentioned  in  a  previous  volume,  stat 
ing  he  had  enlisted  and  was  making  a  strong 
"  pull "  to  get  on  the  Brooklyn.  "  I  won't  say  I 
am  on  her  until  it's  a  fact,"  he  thought,  as  he 
sealed  up  the  communication,  stamped  it,  and 
placed  it  in  the  corner  letter-box. 

The  stand  was  located  in  a  niche  of  the  hotel, 
and  was  open  only  in  the  front,  above  the  counter. 
At  night  this  space  was  closed  by  letting  down 
two  large  shutters  attached  to  several  hinges  and 
ropes. 


A    VISIT    TO    THE    NAVY-YARD  25 

"I  reckon  this  is  the  last  time  I'll  put  these 
shutters  down,"  thought  Walter,  as  he  brought 
one  down  on  the  run.  He  was  about  to  drop  the 
second,  when  a  burly  man,  rather  shabbily  dressed, 
sauntered  up,  and  asked  for  one  of  the  weekly 
sporting  papers. 

"  I'm  thinking  of  going  to  the  theatre,"  he 
said,  somewhat  unsteadily,  and  now  Walter  learned 
by  a  whiff  of  his  breath  that  he  had  been 
drinking.  "  What's  the  best  variety  show  in 
town  ?  " 

"  I'll  give  it  up,"  said  the  youth,  laughingly. 
"  I  haven't  been  to  a  show  since  I  came  to  Bos 
ton,  and  that's  a  number  of  weeks  ago." 

"  Humph  !  What  do  you  do  with  yourself 
nights  ?  " 

"  I'm  here  up  to  eight  or  half  past,  and  after 
that  I  either  go  home  or  to  one  of  the  public 
reading  rooms,  or  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  Hall." 

"Humph!  that  must  be  dead  slow."  The  man 
lurched  heavily  against  the  counter.  "  What  time 
is  it  now  ?  " 

"  About  half  past  eight.  I  haven't  any  watch, 
so  I  can't  tell  you  exactly." 


26  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

"I've  got  a  watch  right  here,"  mumbled  the 
newcomer,  still  leaning  heavily  on  the  counter. 
"  Here  it  is.  But  your  light  is  so  low  I  can't  see 
the  hands.  Turn  it  up." 

Walter  obligingly  complied,  and  the  fellow  tried 
again  to  see  the  time,  but  failed.  "  Strike  a 
match,"  he  went  on;  "I  ain't  going  to  no  theatre 
if  it's  as  late  as  you  say  it  is." 

Walter  did  not  like  the  man's  manner,  but  not 
caring  to  enter  into  any  dispute,  he  lit  a  match  as 
requested,  and  held  it  down  close  to  the  time 
piece,  which  lay  in  the  man's  open  palm. 

"Only     eight-twenty,"     grumbled      the     fellow, 
slowly.       "  I    knew    you    was    off.       You   don't  — 
What's  up  ?  "     And  suddenly  he  straightened  him 
self  and  stared  at  Walter. 

"  I  want  to  know  where  you  got  that  watch," 
demanded  the  youth,  excitedly. 

"  That  watch  ? "  The  man  fell  back  a  pace. 
"What  do  you  —  ahem  —  why  do  you  ask  that 
question,  boy?" 

"  Because  I  know  that  watch,"  was  Walter's 
ready  reply.  "  It  was  stolen  from  my  uncle  in 
New  York  only  a  few  weeks  ago  !  " 

"  Was    it  ? "      The    man's    face    changed    color. 


A    VISIT   TO    THE   NAVY-YARD  27 

"  You  —  you're  mistaken,  boy,"  he  faltered,  and 
fell  back  still  further,  and  then,  as  Walter  leaped 
over  the  counter,  he  took  to  his  heels  and  started 
down  the  half-deserted  street  at  the  best  speed  at 
his  command. 


CHAPTER  III 

A   CHASE   AND   ITS    RESULT 

WALTER  knew  that  watch,  which  had  belonged 
first  to  his  father  and  then  his  mother,  quite  well, 
but  if  there  was  anything1  needed  to  convince  him 
that  there  was  no  mistake  in  the  identification,  it 
was  furnished  by  the  hasty  and  unceremonious 
manner  in  which  the  partly  intoxicated  wearer 
was  endeavoring  to  quit  the  scene. 

"  If  he  was  honest,  he  wouldn't  run !  "  thought 
the  youth.  "  Ten  to  one  he's  the  thief  who  took 
the  grip  from  Uncle  Job."  He  started  after  the 
fleeing  one.  "  Come  back  here ! "  he  shouted. 
"  Stop,  thief  !  " 

But  the  man  did  not  stop ;  instead,  he  tried  to 
run  the  faster.  But  he  did  not  turn  any  corners, 
and  consequently,  aided  by  the  electric  lights, 
Walter  could  see  him  for  quite  a  distance  ahead. 

The  youth  ran  but  a  few  yards,  then  turned 
and  dashed  back  to  the  stand.  Bang  !  the  second 

28 


A    CHASE   AND    lj.S    .RESULT  29 

shutter  came  down  with  a  crash,  and  in  a  trice 
he  had  the  padlock  secured.  Then  off  he  set, 
satisfied  that  a  form  in  the  distance  was  the  one 
he  wanted  to  overtake. 

"What's  the  matter?"  questioned  a  policeman 
on  the  second  corner,  as  he  clutched  Walter  by 
the  arm.  "  What  are  you  running  for  ?  " 

"  Didn't  I  call  out  to  catch  the  thief  ?  "  answered 
the  youth,  sharply.  "  Let  me  go.  If  you  weren't 
so  dead  slow,  you'd  be  doing  something,  instead 
of  standing  there  looking  at  the  moon."  And  on 
he  went  again,  the  officer  shaking  his  fist  after 
him,  half  of  the  opinion  that  Walter  was  trying 
to  joke  him. 

At  this  hour  of  the  evening  the  street  was  far 
from  crowded,  and  Walter  kept  the  man  ahead  in 
sight  with  comparative  ease.  Four  blocks  were 
covered,  when  the  fellow  paused  and  looked  back. 
Seeing  he  was  being  followed,  he  turned  and 
darted  into  a  small  side  street.  Here  were  a 
number  of  warehouses  and  several  tenements.  The 
door  to  one  of  the  latter  stood  open,  and  he  lost 
no  time  in  seeking  the  shelter  of  the  dark  hall 
way. 

"  That's  the  time  I  made  a  bad  break,"  he  mut- 


30  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

tered  thickly.  "  When  I  came  up  to  Boston  Avith 
that  stuff  I  reckoned  I  was  safe.  I  wonder  if 
he'll  follow  me  to  here?  He  had  better  not, 
unless  lie  wants  a  broken  head." 

In  the  meantime,  Walter  had  reached  the  corner 
of  the  side  street  and  come  to  a  halt.  The  narrow 
thoroughfare  was  but  dimly  lighted,  and  not  a  soul 
was  in  sight. 

"He  turned  in  here,  —  I  am  certain  of  that," 
said  the  boy  to  himself.  "  More  than  likely  he  is 
in  hiding  in  some  dark  corner.  I  wonder  if  I 
hadn't  better  call  an  officer?" 

With  this  intention  he  gazed  around,  but  no 
policeman  was  in  view,  and  he  did  not  think  it 
advisable  to  go  back  for  the  guardian  of  the 
peace  before  encountered.  He  entered  the  side 
street  slowly  and  cautiously,  peering  into  every 
nook  and  corner,  and  behind  every  bill-board,  box, 
and  barrel  as  he  moved  along. 

He  had  just  passed  the  tenement  where  the 
man  was  in  hiding  when  the  sounds  of  muffled 
voices  broke  upon  his  ears,  and  the  front  door 
was  thrown  back  with  a  bang. 

"Who  are  you,  and  what  are  you  doing  in 
here?"  came  in  an  unmistakable  Irish  voice. 


A   CHASE   AND   ITS   RESULT  31 

"Excuse  me  —  I  —  I  made  a  mistake,"  was  the 
answer ;  and  now  Walter  recognized  the  tones  of 
the  fellow  who  had  the  watch.  "I  am  looking 
for  a  man  named  Harris." 

"  Well,  he  doesn't  live  here,  —  so  you  had  better 
get  out." 

"Will  you — er  —  tell  me  who  lives  next  door?" 
asked  the  man  Walter  was  after,  in  a  lower  tone, 
evidently  wishing  to  gain  time  ere  leaving  the 
building. 

"  A  man  named  Casey  and  another  named  Bar 
ton  live  there.  There  ain't  a  Harris  on  the  block. 
If  you—" 

"  Hold  him,  please,"  burst  in  Walter,  mounting 
the  tenement  steps.  "  He  has  a  watch  that  was 
stolen  from  my  uncle." 

"  Shut  up,  boy ! "  answered  the  man  fiercely. 
"  My  watch  is  my  own,  and  this  is  all  a  mistake." 

"  There  is  110  mistake.     Hold  him,  will  you  ?  " 

"  I've  got  him,"  came  from  the  gloom  of  the 
hallway.  "  I  thought  he  was  a  sneak  or  some 
thing  by  the  way  he  was  tip-toeing  around  here." 

"  You  are  both  of  you  crazy.  I  never  stole  a 
thing  in  my  life.  Let  go,  both  of  you ! "  And 
then  the  man  began  to  struggle  fiercely,  finally 


32  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

pushing  the  party  in  the  hallway  backward,  and 
almost  sending  Walter  headlong  as  he  darted 
down  the  tenement  steps  and  continued  his  flight 
along  the  side  street. 

As  Walter  went  down,  he  made  a  clutch  at  the 
man's  watch-chain,  or  rather  the  chain  which  be 
longed  among  the  Russell  heirlooms.  He  caught 
the  top  guard  and  the  chain  parted,  one  half 
remaining  in  the  boy's  hand,  and  the  other  fast 
to  the  timepiece. 

"  Help  me  catch  him !  '*  gasped  the  youth,  as 
soon  as  he  could  get  up.  His  breast  had  struck 
the  edge  of  one  of  the  steps,  and  he  was  momen 
tarily  winded. 

"I  will,"  answered  the  man  who  lived  in  the 
tenement.  "  Stop  there !  "  he  called  out,  and  set 
off  in  pursuit,  with  Walter  beside  him.  But  the 
Irishman  was  old  and  rheumatic,  and  soon  felt 
compelled  to  give  up  the  chase.  "  I  can't  match 
ye  !  "  he  puffed,  and  sank  down  on  a  step  to  rest ; 
and  once  again  Walter  continued  the  chase  alone. 

Had  the  thief,  Deck  Mumpers,  been  perfectly 
sober,  he  might  have  escaped  with  ease,  for  he 
was  a  good  runner,  and  at  this  hour  of  the  even 
ing  hiding-places  in  such  a  city  as  Boston,  with 


A   CHASE   AND    ITS    RESULT  33 

its  many  crooked  thoroughfares,  were  numerous. 
But  the  liquor  he  had  imbibed  had  made  him 
hazy  in  his  mind,  and  he  ran  on  and  on,  with 
hardly  any  object  in  view  excepting  to  put  dis 
tance  between  himself  and  his  pursuer. 

He  was  heading  eastward,  and  presently  reached 
a  wharf  facing  the  harbor  and  not  a  great  dis 
tance  from  the  Congress  Street  bridge.  Here 
there  was  a  high  board  fence  and  a  slatted  gate, 
which  for  some  reason  stood  partly  open.  With 
out  a  second  thought,  he  slipped  through  the 
gateway,  slid  the  gate  shut,  and  snapped  the 
hanging  padlock  into  place. 

"Now  he'll  have  a  job  following  me,"  he 
chuckled.  "  I  wonder  what  sort  of  a  place  I've 
struck  ? "  And  he  continued  on  his  way,  among 
huge  piles  of  merchandise  covered  with  tarpaulins. 

Walter  had  come  up  at  his  best  speed  and  was 
less  than  a  hundred  feet  away  when  the  gate  was 
closed  and  locked. 

"  You  rascal  !  "  he  shouted,  but  Deck  Mumpers 
paid  no  attention  to  his  words.  "Now  what's  to 
do  ? "  the  boy  asked  himself,  dismally. 

He  came  up  to  the  gate  and  examined  it.  It 
was  all  of  nine  feet  high,  and  the  palings  were 


34  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

pointed  at  the  top.  Could  he  scale  such  a  bar 
rier? 

"  I  must  do  it  !  "  he  muttered,  and  thrust  one 
hand  through  to  a  cross  brace-  He  ascended  with 
difficulty,  and  once  slipped  and  ran  a  splinter  into 
his  wrist.  But  undaunted  he  kept  on  until  the 
top  was  gained,  then  dropped  to  the  planking  of 
the  wharf  beyond. 

Several  arc  lights,  high  overhead,  lit  up  the 
wharf,  and  he  ran  from  one  pile  of  merchandise 
to  another.  Half  the  wharf  was  thus  covered, 
when  he  suddenly  came  face  to  face  with  Deck 
Mumpers.  The  thief  had  picked  up  a  thick  bale 
stick,  and  without  warning  he  raised  this  on  high 
and  brought  it  down  with  all  force  upon  Walter's 
head.  The  boy  gave  a  groan,  threw  up  both  hands, 
and  dropped  like  a  lump  of  lead,  senseless. 

"  Phew  !  I  wonder  if  I've  finished  him  ?  "  mut 
tered  the  man,  anxiously.  "  Didn't  mean  to  hit 
him  quite  so  hard.  But  it  was  his  own  fault  — 
he  had  no  right  to  follow  me."  He  bent  over 
Walter  and  made  a  hasty  examination.  "  He's 
breathing,  that's  certain.  I  must  get  away  before 
a  watchman  shows  up." 

He   started   to   go,   then   paused   and  bent   over 


HE  BENT  OVER  WALTER  AGAIN. 

Page  35 


A   CHASE   AND   ITS   RESULT  35 

Walter  again.  With  a  dexterity  acquired  by  long 
practice  in  his  peculiar  profession,  he  turned  out 
one  pocket  after  another,  transferring  the  cash 
and  other  articles  to  his  own  clothing.  Then,  as 
Walter  gave  a  long,  deep  sigh,  as  if  about  to 
awaken,  he  took  to  his  heels  once  more.  He  was 
in  no  condition  to  climb  the  wharf  fence  as  Walter 
had  done,  but  helped  himself  over  by  the  use  of 
several  boxes  ;  and  was  soon  a  long  distance  away. 

When  Walter  came  to  his  senses  and  opened  his 
eyes,  the  glare  from  a  bull's-eye  lantern  struck 
him,  and  he  saw  a  wharf  watchman  eyeing  him 
curiously. 

"What  are  you  doing  here,  young  fellow?" 
were  the  watchman's  words. 

"I  —  I  —  where  is  he ? "  questioned  the  youth, 
weakly. 

"He?     Who?" 

"The  thief  —  the  man  who  struck  me  down?" 

"I  haven't  seen  anybody  but  you  around  here." 

"A  thief  who  has  my  uncle's  watch  came  in 
here,  and  I  followed  him,  and  he  struck  me  down 
with  a  club.  When  —  how  long  is  it  since  you 
found  me  here  ?  " 

"  Several    minutes    ago.       I    thought    you    were 


36  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

drunk  at  first,  and  was  going  to  hand  you  over 
to  an  officer." 

"I  don't  drink."  Walter  essayed  to  stand  up, 
but  found  himself  too  weak.  "  Gracious,  my 
head  is  spinning  around  like  a  top  !  "  he  groaned. 

"  You  must  have  got  a  pretty  good  rap  to  be 
knocked  out  like  this,"  commented  the  watchman 
kindly.  "So  the  man  was  a  thief?  It's  a  pity 
he  wasn't  the  one  to  be  knocked  down.  Do  you 
know  the  fellow?" 

"I  would  know  him  —  if  we  ever  meet  again. 
But  I  fancy  he  won't  let  the  grass  grow  under  his 
feet,  after  attacking  me  like  this." 

"I'll  take  a  run  around  the  wharf  and  see  if  I 
can  spot  any  stranger,"  concluded  the  watchman, 
and  hurried  off.  Another  watchman  was  aroused, 
and  both  made  a  thorough  investigation,  but,  of 
course,  nobody  was  brought  to  light. 

By  the  time  the  search  was  ended,  Walter  felt 
something  like  himself,  and  arose  slowly  and 
allowed  the  watchmen  to  conduct  him  to  their 
shanty  at  one  side  of  the  wharf.  Here  he  bathed 
his  face,  picked  the  splinter  from  his  wrist,  and 
brushed  up  generally.  A  cup  of  hot  coffee  from  one 
of  the  watchmen's  cans  braced  him  up  still  further. 


A    CHASE    AND    ITS    RESULT  37 

"  It  must  be  ten  o'clock,  isn't  it  ?  "  lie  asked. 

"  Ten  o'clock  ! ''  came  from  the  man  who  had 
found  him.  "  I  reckon  that  clip  on  the  head  has 
muddled  you.  It's  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning." 

"Three  o'clock  in  the  morning!"  repeated 
Walter.  "  Then  I  must  have  been  lying  out  there 
for  several  hours.  That  thief  has  escaped  long 
ago."  And  his  face  fell. 

"  Yes,  he's  had  plenty  of  time,  if  he  did  the  deed 
as  long  ago  as  that.  Did  he  have  anything  else 
besides  your  uncle's  watch?" 

"  I  don't  know,  but  it's  likely.  You  see  my 
uncle  came  to  New  York  from  Buffalo  to  sell  some 
heirlooms  which  were  left  to  my  brothers  and  my 
self  when  our  folks  died.  The  heirlooms  were 
in  a  travelling-bag,  and  consisted  of  the  watch  and 
chain,  two  gold  wedding  rings,  and  a  diamond  that 
a  grandfather  of  mine  once  picked  up  in  Australia. 
My  uncle  left  his  bag  standing  in  the  post-office 
for  a  few  minutes,  and  when  he  got  back  the  grip 
was  gone.  The  police  hunted  everywhere  for  the 
thief,  but  all  that  could  be  discovered  was  that 
it  looked  as  if  the  rascal  had  come  to  Boston. 
To-night  —  or  rather,  last  evening  —  a  man  came 


38  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

up  and  showed  the  watch,  which  I  know  only  too 
well,  as  it  has  a  little  horseshoe  painted  on  the 
dial  plate.  I  tried  to  collar  the  fellow,  but  he  ran 
away,  and  after  stopping  in  a  tenement  house,  he 
came  here.  Now  I  suppose  he  is  miles  away  — 
perhaps  out  of  the  city  altogether." 

"  That's  so,  yet  there  is  no  telling,  lad.  The 
best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  report  to  the  police 
without  delay  —  if  you  are  able  to  do  it." 

"  Yes,  I  guess  I  am  able,  although  my  head  aches 
a  good  bit,  I  can  tell  you  that.  I  am  much  obliged 
for  what  you  have  done  for  me." 

"  Oh,  that's  all  right  —  hope  you  get  your  belong 
ings,"  replied  the  watchman,  and  led  the  way  to 
the  gate,  which  he  unlocked.  Soon  Walter  was 
on  the  street,  and  walking  as  rapidly  as  his  condi 
tion  permitted  to  the  police  station. 

At  this  hour  of  the  night  he  found  only  a  ser 
geant  and  several  roundsmen  in  charge.  The  ser 
geant  listened  with  interest  to  what  he  had  to  say. 

"  I  remember  that  case  —  it  was  reported  to  here 
from  New  York  some  time  ago.  The  pawnshops 
were  ransacked  for  the  jewelry  and  the  watch, 
but  nothing  was  found.  So  you  are  certain  you 
would  recognize  the  man  again  if  you  saw  him?" 


A    CHASE   AND    ITS    KESULT  39 

"  I  am  —  unless  lie  altered  his  appearance  a  good 
deal.  He  had  a  small,  dark  moustache,  but  other 
wise  he  was  clean-shaven." 

"  Come  into  the  rear  office  and  look  over  our 
album  of  pickpockets  and  sneak-thieves.  That  is 
what  this  fellow  most  likely  is  —  and  a  peculiar 
one  too.  No  first-class  criminal  would  do  this  job 
as  he  is  doing  it." 

"  He  drinks  heavily  —  he  was  partly  intoxicated 
when  I  met  him,"  said  Walter,  as  he  followed  the 
station  official  into  a  rear  office. 

"  Then  that  accounts  for  it.  A  man  can't  be  a 
really  successful  criminal  unless  he  keeps  his  wits 
about  him.  Here  is  the  album.  Look  it  over 
carefully,  and  let  me  know  if  you  see  anybody  that 
looks  like  your  man."  And  he  left  Walter  to 
himself  and  reentered  the  outer  office,  to  hear  the 
reports  of  the  roundsmen  coming  in. 

The  book  given  to  Walter  was  a  thick  one, 
filled  with  cards,  photos,  and  tin-types  of  criminals. 
Under  each  picture  was  written  a  name,  usually 
accompanied  by  several  aliases,  and  also  a  number, 
to  correspond  with  the  same  number  in  the  crim 
inal  register. 

"  Gracious,  but  they  keep  pretty  good  track  of 


40  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

them,"  thought  Walter,  as  he  turned  over  page 
after  page.  "Who  would  think  all  these  good- 
looking  men  were  wrong-doers  ?  Some  of  them 
look  a  good  deal  more  like  ministers." 

Walter  had  gone  through  half  the  book,  and  the 
photographs  were  beginning  to  confuse  his  already 
aching  head,  when  a  certain  picture  arrested  his 
attention.  "  I've  found  him  !  "  he  cried  out. 
"  That's  the  fellow,  although  he  is  minus  that 
moustache  of  his  !  " 

"  Did  you  call  ? "  asked  the  sergeant,  coming 
to  the  door. 

"  I've  found  him.  This  is  the  man.  His  name 
is  given  as  Deck  Mumpers,  alias  Foxy  Mumpers, 
and  S wilier  Deck." 

"  If  he  is  called  Swiller  Deck,  he  must  drink  a 
good  deal,"  said  the  sergeant,  with  a  laugh.  "  You 
are  sure  of  this  identification  ?  " 

"I  am.  But  he  wants  a  moustache  put  on  that 
picture." 

"  We  take  them  bare-faced  if  we  can.  This 
photo  was  taken  in  Brooklyn."  The  officer  turned 
to  an  official  register.  "  Deck  Mumpers,  age  forty- 
two,  height  five  feet  seven  inches,  weight  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty-two  pounds.  Kound  face,  big 


A    CHASE    AND    ITS    RESULT 

ears,  broad  shoulders,  poor  teeth.  Sent  to  Sing 
Sing  in  1892  for  two  years,  for  robbery  of  Scott 
diamonds.  A  hard  drinker  when  flush.  Xow 
wanted  for  several  petty  crimes  in  New  York. 
Came  originally  from  South  Boston,  where  he  was 
in  the  liquor  business."  The  sergeant  turned  again 
to  Walter.  "I  guess  you  have  struck  your  man. 
I'll  send  out  the  alarm.  What  is  your  address  ?  " 

"  I  have  just  joined  the  navy  and  am  bound  for 
the  Brooklyn.  But  I  can  leave  you  my  uncle's  name 
and  address,  and  he  can  come  on  to  Boston  from 
Buffalo,  if  it's  necessary." 

"  That  will  do,  then,"  answered  the  sergeant. 

He  brought  forth  a  book  in  which  to  put  down 
the  details  of  the  affair.  While  he  was  writing, 
Walter  slipped  his  hand  into  his  pocket  to  see  if 
the  slip  of  paper  he  had  received  at  the  navy-yard 
was  still  safe.  The  paper  was  gone. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ON    THE    AVAY    TO    THE    "BROOKLYN" 

"  OH,  what  luck  !  " 

"  What  is  the  matter  now  ?  " 

"  My  order  for  a  railroad  ticket  from  Boston  to 
Fortress  Monroe  is  gone  !  " 

"  Is  that  true  ?  Perhaps  Deck  Mumpers  cleaned 
you  out  after  he  struck  you  down,"  suggested  the 
sergeant,  quickly.  "Feel  in  your  pockets." 

Walter  did  so,  and  his  face  blanched.  "  He  did 
—  everything,  —  my  money,  keys,  cash,  —  all  are 
missing.  What  in  the  world  shall  I  do  now  ?  " 

"  How  much  money  did  you  have  ?  " 

"  About  twenty  dollars.  The  main  thing  was 
that  railroad  ticket  order.  If  that  is  gone,  how 
am  I  to  get  to  Norfolk?" 

"  Was  your  name  mentioned  on  the  paper  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Where  was  it  to  be  presented  ?  any  particular 
depot  ?  " 

42 


ON    THE    WAY    TO    THE    "  BBOOKLYN  "  43 

"  Yes,  the  New  York  and  New  England  railroad 
depot." 

"Then  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  ring  the  rail 
road  folks  up  and  have  the  bearer  of  the  order 
detained,  if  the  slip  is  presented,"  went  on  the 
police  officer,  and  stepping  to  the  telephone  he 
rang  up  central  and  had  the  necessary  connection 
made. 

"  Is  this  the  ticket  office  of  the  New  York  and 
New  England  railroad  depot  ?  "  he  questioned. 

"  Yes,"  came  the  reply  over  the  wire. 

"  A  navy-yard  order  for  a  ticket  from  here  to 
Norfolk,  or  Fortress  Monroe,  has  been  stolen.  It 
is  made  out  in  the  name  of  Walter  Russell.  If 
it  is  presented,  hold  the  party  having  it  and  com 
municate  with  police  headquarters." 

"Is  the  name  Walter  Russell?"  was  the  excited 
query,  and  Walter's  heart  began  to  sink  as  he 
seemed  to  feel  what  was  coming. 

"Yes." 

"  That  order  has  already  been  filled.  It  was 
presented  about  ten  o'clock  last  night." 

"  I've  missed  it  !  "  groaned  the  youth,  and  dropped 
into  a  chair.  "  What  will  the  navy-yard  people 
say  to  this  when  they  hear  of  it  ? " 


44  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  I  don't  see  how  they  can  blame  you,"  returned 
the  sergeant,  kindly,  "  seeing  as  you  were  knocked 
senseless  by  the  thief.  Deck  Mumpers  has  got 
the  best  of  it  so  far." 

He  called  through  the  telephone  for  a  description 
of  the  party  having  the  order,  and  soon  learned  it 
must  have  been  Mumpers  beyond  a  doubt. 

"  Can't  you  telegraph  to  Norfolk  to  have  him 
arrested  when  he  arrives  ?"  asked  Walter  suddenly. 

"  You  don't  think  he'll  go  all  the  way  to  Nor 
folk,  do  you  ? "  smiled  the  police  officer.  Then 
he  turned  again  to  the  telephone.  "  What  kind 
of  a  ticket  did  that  party  get  on  the  order  ?  "  he 
asked. 

"  First-class,  with  sleepers." 

"He  got  a  first-class  ticket.  Ten  to  one  he'll 
not  use  it  at  all,  but  sell  the  pasteboard  at  some 
cut-rate  ticket  office  right  here  in  Boston  and  then 
buy  another  ticket  for  somewhere  else." 

"  I  see  ! "  cried  Walter.  "  But  if  the  ticket 
was  sold  here,  could  we  trace  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  likely,  for  many  first-class  tickets  are 
alike.  We  might  trace  the  sleeping-car  checks, 
but  I  doubt  if  Mumpers  will  try  to  do  anything 
with  those." 


ON   THE   WAY   TO   THE   "BROOKLYN"  45 

';  But  he  may  use  the  ticket,"  ventured  Walter, 
hardly  knowing  what  else  to  say. 

"  Oh,  possibly.  I'll  have  the  men  at  the  various 
stations  keep  an  eye  open  for  the  rascal,"  con 
cluded  the  sergeant,  and  after  a  few  more  words 
Walter  left  the  station. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  youth  was  con 
siderably  out  of  sorts.  "  I  start  off  to  recover 
some  stolen  property  and  end  by  losing  more,"  he 
groaned.  "  I'm  not  fit  to  join  the  navy,  or  do 
anything."  And  he  gave  a  mountainous  sigh. 

It  was  almost  five  o'clock,  and  knowing  Dan 
would  soon  be  on  hand  with  Gimpwell  to  open  the 
stand,  he  walked  slowly  in  that  direction.  To 
keep  up  his  courage  he  tried  to  whistle,  but  the 
effort  was  a  dismal  failure.  Walter  was  naturally 
very  light-hearted,  but  just  now  no  one  looking  at 
his  troubled  face  would  have  suspected  this. 

Reaching  the  stand,  he  opened  the  shutters  and 
put  out  the  light  which  he  had  forgotten  to  extin 
guish.  Soon  the  first  bundles  of  papers  came  along, 
and  he  sorted  them  over  and  arranged  them  for 
sale  and  for  Dan's  route.  The  work  was  almost 
done  when  the  carrier  came  along,  followed  imme 
diately  by  the  new  clerk. 


46  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

"  Hullo,  I  didn't  know  you'd  be  here  !  "  cried 
Dan.  "  Why  didn't  you  come  home  last  night  ? 
Mother  expected  you  to  use  the  room,  and  you 
paid  for  it." 

"  I  wish  I  had  used  the  room,"  answered  Walter, 
and  went  over  his  tale  in  a  few  words,  for  Dan 
must  be  off,  to  serve  several  men  with  news 
papers  before  they  themselves  started  off  to  their 
daily  labors. 

"  Say,  but  that's  too  bad  !  "  cried  the  errand 
boy.  "  I've  got  two  dollars,  Walter.  You  can 
have  the  money  if  it  will  do  you  any  good." 

"  Thanks,  Dan,  I  want  to  see  Mr.  Newell  first. 
But  it's  kind  of  you  to  make  the  offer." 

"  I'd  offer  you  something,  Russell,"  put  in  the 
new  clerk.  "  But  the  fact  is  I  haven't  even  car 
fare  ;  had  to  tramp  over  from  Charlestown." 

Phil  Newell  put  into  appearance  shortly  before 
seven  o'clock,  coining  a  little  earlier  than  usual, 
to  see  that  Gimpwell  got  along  all  right.  Calling 
him  aside,  Walter  told  of  what  had  happened. 
He  was  getting  sick  of  telling  the  story,  but,  in 
this  case,  there  was  no  help  for  it. 

"  Douse  the  toplights,  but  you've  run  on  a 
sunken  rock,  and  no  mistake,  Walter,"  cried  the 


ON   THE   WAY   TO   THE   "  BROOKLYN  "  47 

old  naval  veteran.  "  So  lie  cleaned  you  out  com 
pletely,  eh?" 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Newell.  I  don't  care  so  much  for  the 
money,  but  that  order  for  the  railroad  ticket  — " 

"  It's  too  bad  ;  too  bad  !  "  Phil  Newell  ran 
his  hand  through  his  bushy  hair.  "  I  don't  be 
lieve  the  navy-yard  authorities  will  issue  a  dupli 
cate  order." 

"Neither  do  I." 

"  You  see,  some  sailors  wouldn't  be  none  too 
good  for  to  get  such  a  paper  and  then  sell  it  for 
what  she  would  fetch." 

"Yes,  that's  the  worst  part  of  it.  I  shouldn't 
want  them  to  think  I  was  —  was  getting  in  on 
them  —  or  trying  to  do  so." 

"The  best  thing  to  do,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  is 
to  call  on  Caleb  Walton  and  get  his  advice." 

"  Where  does  he  live  ?  " 

"  In  Charlestown,  only  a  few  blocks  from  the 
Bunker  Hill  monument.  I  don't  know  the  num 
ber,  but  it's  on  Hill  Street,  and  I  know  the  house." 

"Will  you  go  with  me?  If  I  haven't  the  num 
ber—" 

"  To  be  sure  I'll  go  with  you,  just  as  soon  as  I 
can  set  the  new  clerk  on  his  proper  course." 


48  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  And,  Mr.  Newell,  would  you  mind  —  that  is, 
would  you  make  me  a  —  a  loan—  "  faltered  Walter. 

"Out  with  it,  my  boy,  how  much  do  you  want? 
I  told  you  before  I'd  be  your  friend,  and  what 
Phil  Newell  says  he  means,  every  trip." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  sir.  I  don't  know  how 
much  I  want.  I  had  twenty  dollars  and  thirty- 
five  cents,  and  Mr.  "NValton  said  that  was  more 
than  enough  to  see  me  through  until  pay  day 
came  along." 

"  Then  here  are  twenty  dollars."  The  pro 
prietor  of  the  news-stand  pulled  a  roll  of  small 
bills  from  his  pocket  and  counted  out  the  amount. 
"  You  can  pay  me  back  when  you  recover  your 
money,  or  else  out  of  your  pay  money,  if  they 
don't  collar  that  thief.  Have  you  had  breakfast 
yet?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Then  you  had  better  get  a  bite  while  I  in 
struct  Gimpwell.  I'll  be  ready  for  you  in  quarter 
of  an  hour." 

Fifteen  minutes  found  them  on  the  way,  taking 
a  car  which  took  them  directly  over  to  Charles- 
town,  along  the  navy -yard  and  up  Hill  Street. 

"  Here  we  are,"  cried  Phil  Newell,  as  he  stopped 


ON    THE   WAY    TO    THE    "BROOKLYN"  49 

the  car.  "And  just  in  time,  for  there  is  Caleb 
Walton  leaving  his  house  now." 

"  What  brings  you  up  ?  "  demanded  the  gunner, 
when  confronted,  "  Well,  this  is  certainly  a 
mess,"  he  continued,  after  he  had  been  told. 
"No,  I'm  certain  they  won't  issue  a  duplicate 
order,  for  Captain  Line  is  out  of  the  city." 

"  But  we  might  try  and  see  what  we  can  do," 
insisted  Phil  Newell. 

"To  be  sure  ;  come  on."  And  the  three  set  off 
for  the  navy-yard.  Here  it  looked  at  first  as  if 
nothing  could  be  gained,  but  finally  one  of  the 
higher  officers  took  it  upon  his  own  shoulders  to 
give  Walter  a  new  order,  at  the  same  time  say 
ing  something  about  charging  it  up  to  the  Emer 
gency  Account. 

"  Well,  that's  a  big  relief,"  murmured  Walter, 
on  coming  away.  "  I  feel  as  if  a  thousand  pounds 
were  taken  from  my  heart."  And  he  certainly 
looked  it. 

"  I  -must  leave  you  now,"  said  Caleb  Walton. 
"Be  sure  and  be  at  the  depot  on  time,  and  take 
care  of  that  new  order." 

"  It's  pinned  fast  in  my  pocket,"  said  the  youth. 
"If  it  goes,  so  does  my  coat." 


50  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

On  returning  to  the  news-stand,  Walter  pro 
cured  some  paper  and  an  envelope,  and  in  the 
reading-room  of  the  hotel  sat  down  and  wrote  a 
long  letter  to  his  uncle,  Job  Dowling,  telling  of 
his  enlistment  in  the  navy  and  of  what  had  hap 
pened  during  the  night.  "  I  think  you  ought  to 
come  to  Boston,"  he  concluded.  "  If  the  police 
can't  do  anything,  a  detective  ought  to  be  set  on 
this  Deck  Mumper's  track.  You  are  holding  a 
good  deal  of  money  in  trust  for  Ben,  Larry,  and 
me,  and  for  my  part,  I  would  spend  a  good  deal 
rather  than  see  father's  watch  and  his  and  mother's 
wedding  rings  gone  forever,  —  not  to  mention 
grandfather's  diamond,  which  alone  is  worth  at 
least  two  hundred  dollars.  Write  to  me  concern 
ing  this,  and  send  the  letter  to  the  Brooklyn,  Off 
Fortress  Munroe,  Va." 

This  letter  was  mailed  without  delay,  and  soon 
after  Walter  bade  Phil  Newell,  Dan,  and  several 
others  good-by,  and,  grip  in  hand,  walked  to  the 
depot.  Here  he  found  several  jackies  already 
assembled,  and  soon  learned  that  they  were  mem 
bers  of  Walton's  party.  In  a  few  minutes  Walton 
himself  came  hurrying  down  Federal  Street,  with 
several  green  hands  in  tow. 


ON    THE    WAY    TO   THE    "  BROOKLYN  "  51 

"  All  here  ?  "  lie  demanded,  and  began  to  "  count 
noses."  Only  one  man  was  missing,  and  he  soon 
put  in  an  appearance,  and  all  entered  the  depot 
and  procured  their  tickets.  Then  Walter  asked 
about  the  stolen  order,  but  the  clerk  had  heard 
nothing  new  concerning  it.  "  You  were  mighty 
lucky  to  get  another  order,"  he  said  with  a  grin. 
"  Next  time  they  may  make  you  walk  the  tracks." 

The  train  was  in,  and  hurrying  out  to  the  long 
shed,  they  found  their  proper  places.  Soon  there 
came  a  sharp  jerk,  the  train  moved  off ;  and  the 
long  journey  southward  was  begun. 

For  a  seat-mate  Walter  had  a  typical  Yankee 
lad,  one  from  the  coast  of  Maine,  a  young  fellow 
who  knew  but  little  about  warships,  but  who  had 
spent  several  years  on  the  rolling  deep,  in  voyages 
to  South  America,  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  elsewhere. 
His  name  was  Silas  Doring,  and  Walter  found  him 
talkative,  although  not  objectionably  so. 

"  Yes,  I  couldn't  hardly  wait  till  I  got  to 
Boston,"  said  Si,  for  that  was  what  he  said  all  of 
his  friends  "  to  hum "  called  him.  "  We'll  lick 
the  Spanish  out  of  their  boots,  see  if  we  don't  !  " 

"You  are  bound  for  the  Brooklyn?'1''  asked 
Walter. 


52  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Thet's  it,  if  they  want  me,  otherwise  I'm 
booked  for  the  Texas.  Putty  good  for  a  boy  from 
Maine  to  go  on  the  Texas,  ain't  it,  lie  !  he  !  But 
I  don't  care  much.  They  can  put  me  011  the  San 
Francisco  if  they  want  to  —  so  long  as  they  give 
me  a  chance  at  them  tarnal  Dons.  When  the 
Maine  was  blowed  up,  why,  I  jest  jumped  up  an' 
down  an'  up  an'  down  with  rage.  '  Si  Boring,' 
sez  I,  '  Si  Doring,  ape  you  a-going  to  let  such  an 
insult  an'  crime  go  by  unnoticed  ?  Not  much  !  ' 
sez  I.  '  I'll  join  the  navy,  an'  help  blow  all  of 
the  Spanish  to  Jericho,'  — •  an'  I'm  going  to  do  it  !  " 
And  the  Yankee  lad  struck  his  fist  into  his  open 
palm  with  a  thump  of  energy. 

"  I  wish  I  knew  as  much  about  ships  as  you 
do,"  ventured  Walter.  "  I've  been  on  two  trips 
across  Lake  Erie,  and  know  something,  but  I'm 
afraid  I'll  feel  like  a  fish  out  of  water  when  I  get 
on  a  man-o'-war." 

"  We'll  keep  our  eyes  and  ears  open,  and  try  to 
learn  —  that's  the  only  way.  I  know  every  rope 
on  a  merchantman,  kin  name  'em  from  fore  royal 
stay  to  topping  lift,  but  that  ain't  the  hundredth 
part  on  it.  We've  got  to  learn  our  vessel  jest  as 
a  person  has  got  to  learn  a  new  city  and  its 


OX   THE    WAY    TO   THE    "BROOKLYN"  53 

streets,  fer  boats  ain't  built  one  like  another,  not 
by  a  jugful  •  And  after  we  have  learned  the 
ship,  we've  got  to  learn  the  guns,  and  the  fire- 
drill,  and  how  to  clear  ship  for  action,  and  a 
lot  more,  not  to  say  a  word  about  learning  how 
to  knock  out  them  Dons,  as  some  calls  'em.  Oh, 
we'll  have  our  hands  full  after  we  get  011  board, 
don't  forget  it  I  "  And  Si  .  Doring  shook  his 
head  vigorously. 

On  and  on  sped  the  train  until  Hyde  Park  was 
reached.  Here  a  brief  stop  was  made,  and  several 
persons  including  a  sailor  got  on  board.  The 
sailor  came  through  the  car  as  if  looking  for 
somebody  and  finally  found  Caleb  Walton  and 
shook  hands. 

"  Yes,  I'm  bound  for  Norfolk,  too,"  Walter  and 
Si  Doring  heard  him  remark. 

"  By  gum  !  "  whispered  the  Yankee  sailor.  "  I 
wonder  if  thet  chap  is  going  with  us?" 

"  Do  you  know  him  ?  "    asked  the  boy. 

"  Know  him  ?  jest  guess  I  do  !  His  name  is 
Jim  Haskett,  and  he  used  to  be  the  mate  of  the 
Sunfloiver,  a  three-master  from  Penobscot.  I  sailed 
under  him  once,  and  he  was  the  hardest  man  on 
shipboard  I  ever  got  next  to.  If  he  gets  in  the 


54  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

navy,  hell  make  everybody  under  him  dance  to 
his  pipings,  and  worse." 

"  If  that's  the  case,  I  sincerely  hope  he  isn't 
assigned  to  my  ship,"  was  Walter's  comment.  "  I 
haven't  any  use  for  a  bully,  big  or  little." 

"  I  owe  Jim  Haskett  many  an  old  score  ;  I 
would  like  to  get  the  chance  to  even  up,"  went 
on  the  Yankee.  "  But  I've  enlisted  to  do  my 
duty  and  lick  the  Spanish,  and  if  Haskett  leaves 
me  alone,  I'll  leave  him  alone.  Here  he  comes 
now."  And  Si  straightened  up. 

The  former  mate  of  the  Sunflower  passed  down  the 
aisle  slowly.  When  he  saw  the  Yankee  he  started 
and  then  scowled  at  him.  "Have  you  enlisted?" 
he  asked,  in  a  voice  that  was  far  from  pleasant. 

"  I  have,"  returned  Si.  "  Got  any  objections, 
Haskett  ?  " 

"  Humph  !  "  was  the  only  answer,  and  the  ex- 
mate  of  the  Sunflower  passed  on,  to  drop  into  a 
vacant  seat  some  distance  behind  them. 

"  Oli,  he's  a  corker,"  whispered  the  Yankee, 
and  Walter  nodded  to  show  that  he  agreed  with 
him.  Walter  was  destined  to  many  an  encounter 
with  Jim  Haskett  before  his  first  term  in  the 
navy  should  come  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER   V 

SOMETHING    ABOUT    WAR    AND    PRIZE   MONEY 

COMMODORE  GEORGE  DEWEY'S  great  victory 
over  Admiral  Montojo  occurred  on  May  1,  1898, 
and  was  the  first  to  be  scored  during  our  war  with 
Spain. 

Previous  to  this  time,  matters  had  moved  along 
swiftly,  but  with  no  definite  results.  Following 
the  wanton  destruction  of  our  battleship  Maine 
in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  in  February,  popular 
indignation  arose  to  a  fever  heat  against  the  coun 
try  which  had  offered  the  American  flag  several 
insults  in  the  past,  and  which  was  now  engaged 
in  a  ruthless  effort  to  put  down  the  long-standing 
rebellion  in  Cuba,  be  the  cost  what  it  might. 

For  many  months  our  President,  Congress,  and 
the  people  had  watched,  with  anxious  eyes,  the 
progress  of  events  in  Cuba  —  had  seen  the  Cubans 
doing  their  best  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Spanish 
tyranny  and  oppression.  From  a  little  uprising 

55 


56  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

here,  and  another  there,  the  rebellion  spread  all 
over  what  was  no  longer  "  the  ever-faithful  isle," 
until  rich  and  poor,  those  of  Cuban-Spanish  blood, , 
and  those  whose  ancestors  had  been  negroes  and 
Indians,  became  involved  in  it.  At  first  there 
was  no  army,  only  bands  of  guerillas,  who  fled 
to  the  mountains  whenever  a  regular  Spanish 
force  presented  itself,  but  soon  the  conflict  as 
sumed  a  definite  shape,  a  rebel  army  was  formed, 
to  be  commanded  by  Generals  Gomez,  Antonio 
Maceo,  Calixto  Garcia,  and  others,  and  then  Spain 
awoke  to  the  realization  that  Cuba,  her  richest 
colonial  possession,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
the  Philippines,  was  about  to  break  away  from  her. 
This  crisis  filled  the  rulers  in  Spain  with  alarm, 
for  Cuba  had  turned  into  her  treasury  millions  of 
pesetas  every  year,  for  which  the  island  got  little 
or  nothing  in  return.  "  Cuba  must,  and  shall  be 
subdued,"  was  the  cry,  and  thousands  of  soldiers 
were  transported  from  Spain  and  elsewhere,  to  be 
landed  at  Havana,  Santiago,  and  other  points. 
These  soldiers  immediately  took  possession  of  all 
the  larger  cities,  causing  those  in  rebellion  to  with 
draw  to  the  villages  and  to  the  forests  and 
mountains. 


SOMETHING   ABOUT    WAR   AND    PRIZE   MONEY       57 

A  bloody  warfare  lasting  between  two  and  three 
years  followed,  and  thousands  of  the  rebels,  includ 
ing  the  noble  Antonio  Maceo,  one  of  the  best  negro 
patriots  that  ever  existed,  were  slain.  In  addition 
to  this,  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  property  were 
destroyed,  in  the  shape  of  torn-up  railroads,  burnt 
sugar  and  tobacco  plantations,  and  sacked  vil 
lages  and  towns.  Every  owner  of  property  was 
compelled  to  take  sides  in  the  conflict,  and  if  he 
did  not  side  with  those  who  waited  upon  him, 
then  his  property  was  either  confiscated  or  de 
stroyed. 

The  Spanish  authorities  had  started  out  to 
crush  the  rebellion  on  the  spot.  As  time  went 
by  and  the  rebels  grew  stronger  and  stronger, 
those  in  command  saw  that  extreme  measures 
must  be  resorted  to,  or  the  campaign  would  prove 
a  failure.  The  majority  of  the  Cuban  men  were 
away  from  their  homes.  At  once  orders  were 
issued  to  drive  all  the  defenceless  women  and 
children  into  the  cities  held  by  the  Spanish.  This 
was  accomplished  under  the  pretext  that  Spain 
wished  to  keep  them  from  harm.  Once  driven  into 
the  larger  places,  these  women  and  children  were  not 
fed  and  cared  for,  but  were  allowed  to  either  live 


58  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

upon  the  charity  of  those  about  them,  or  starve. 
These  poor  people  were  called  reconcentrados,  and 
it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  before  the  war  closed 
nearly  three  hundred  thousand  of  them  gave  up 
their  lives  through  neglect  and  lack  of  food. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  had  stood  by 
mutely  and  seen  the  war  waged  against  the  rebels 
who  well  deserved  their  liberty,  but  no  one  could 
stand  by  and  see  women,  children,  and  helpless 
old  men  starved  to  death.  At  once  it  was  pro 
posed  to  send  relief  ships  to  Cuba,  but  Spain 
frowned  at  this,  saying  that  such  relief  was  only 
one  way  of  helping  those  who  had  taken  up  arms 
against  her. 

At  this  time  there  were  many  Americans  in 
Havana  and  elsewhere  in  Cuba,  and  as  a  matter 
of  self-protection  the  battleship  Maine  was  sent 
down  to  Havana  harbor  to  see  that  no  harm  came 
to  them.  How  the  battleship  was  blown  up  and 
over  two  hundred  and  fifty  lives  lost,  has  already 
been  told  in  the  previous  volumes  of  this  series. 
A  Board  of  Inquiry  was  appointed  by  the  Presi 
dent,  and  it  was  soon  settled  that  the  explosion 
which  had  wrecked  the  warship  had  come  from 
the  outside  and  that  Spain  was  responsible  for 


SOMETHING    ABOUT    WAR    AND    PRIZE    MONEY       59 

the  loss.  Spain  denied  the  charge ;  and  the  war 
was  practically  on. 

The  first  movement  of  the  authorities  at  Wash 
ington  was  to  blockade  the  city  of  Havana  and 
a  large  portion  of  the  coast  to  the  east  and  the 
west  of  that  port.  This  work  was  intrusted  to 
Commodore  (afterwards  Admiral)  Sampson,  and 
he  left  Key  AVest  with  the  North  Atlantic  Squad 
ron  on  the  morning  of  April  22,  and  in  a  few 
days  had  a  grand  semicircle  of  warships  stationed 
on  the  outside  of  Havana,  Matanzas,  Mariel,  Carde 
nas,  Bahia  Honda,  Cabanas,  and  other  ports  of  lesser 
importance.  Later  on,  other  ports  were  likewise 
blockaded,  and  these  portions  of  Cuba  suddenly 
found  themselves  cut  off  from  the  outside  world. 
Sampson  wished  to  bombard  Havana  and  bring 
the  Spanish  stationed  there  to  terms  at  once,  but 
this  suggestion  was  overruled,  as  it  was  imagined 
that  Spain  might  be  brought  to  terms  without 
such  a  great  loss  of  life. 

As  soon  as  the  blockading  of  the  ports  men 
tioned  began,  the  President  called  for  volunteers, 
and  how  nobly  all  our  states  responded  we  have 
already  learned  in  "A  Young  Volunteer  in  Cuba." 
The  regular  army  was  also  hurried  to  the  south- 


60  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

east  and  concentrated  at  Tampa  and  other  points, 
while  the  volunteers  remained  in  their  various 
state  camps,  waiting  to  be  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service.  Of  the  grand  movement 
to  Cuba  we  shall  hear  later. 

The  news  of  Commodore  Dewey's  glorious  vic 
tory,  as  related  in  "  Under  Dewey  at  Manila " 
thrilled  our  people  as  they  had  not  been  thrilled 
for  years.  In  the  army  and  the  navy  were  men 
from  both  the  North  and  the  South,  and  section 
alism  was  now  wiped  out  forever,  and  all  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder  under  Old  Glory,  fighting  for 
the  sake  of  Humanity.  The  battle-cries  were  "Free 
Cuba  !  "  and  "  Remember  the  Maine  !  "  and  cer 
tainly  none  could  have  been  more  inspiring. 

The  blockading  of  so  long  a  coast  line  required 
a  great  many  warships,  and  as  it  was  not  deemed 
advisable  to  place  all  our  big  vessels  on  this  duty, 
the  authorities  lost  no  time  in  buying  or  leasing 
a  number  of  ocean  steamers  and  coast  craft  and 
converting  them  into  vessels  of  war.  These  ves 
sels  required  a  great  number  of  men,  and  the 
Naval  Reserves  were  in  great  demand,  as  were 
also  volunteers  for  the  regular  navy.  This  was 
the  reason  that  Walter  and  those  with  him  were 


SOMETHING    ABOUT    WAR    AND    PRIZE    MONEY       61 

taken  on  so  quickly.  Had  he  applied  for  enlist 
ment  into  the  navy  during  times  of  peace,  he 
would  have  found  an  entrance  far  more  difficult, 
for  Uncle  Sam  is  growing  more  and  more  par 
ticular  every  day  as  to  the  class  of  men  he  allows 
to  tread  the  decks  of  his  men-o'-war. 

Shortly  after  Havana  and  its  neighboring  ports 
were  blockaded,  it  was  rumored  that  Spain  would 
send  over  a  powerful  fleet  to  bombard  New  York 
or  some  other  principal  city  along  our  eastern 
seacoast.  This  caused  a  good  deal  of  uneasiness, 
and  steps  were  immediately  taken  to  fortify  all 
principal  points  and  mine  many  of  the  harbor 
entrances.  Patrol  boats  were  also  placed  on  duty, 
to  give  the  alarm  at  the  first  sight  of  an  enemy.  In 
some  cases  channel  buoys  were  removed,  and  light 
house  lamps  were  left  unlit,  so  that  no  Spanish 
vessel  might  creep  in  under  cover  of  darkness. 

Acting  Rear-Admiral  Sampson,  as  he  was  offi 
cially  designated,  was  kept  busy  watching  the 
blockade  along  the  northern  coast  of  Cuba,  and 
in  distributing  his  auxiliary  vessels  to  such  points 
as  would  be  most  advantageous.  This  being  the 
case,  Commodore  Schley,  next  in  command,  was 
left  at  Hampton  Roads,  near  Fortress  Monroe, 


62  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

Virginia,  with  what  was  known  as  the  Flying 
Squadron,  a  number  of  the  fastest  warships 
riding  the  Atlantic.  The  Flying  Squadron  was  to 
wait  until  the  Spanish  fleet  started  westward,  when 
it  was  to  do  its  best  toward  doing  as  Dewey  had' 
done  to  Montojo's  fleet,  "  find  it  and  engage  it " ; 
in  plain  words,  to  fight  it  to  the  bitter  end.  Great 
things  were  expected  of  the  Flying  Squadron,  and 
in  this  the  people  were  not  to  be  disappointed,  as 
we  shall  see. 

The  trip  by  rail  from  Boston  to  the  South 
proved  full  of  interest  to  Walter,  who  loved  riding 
on  the  cars.  So  far  two  transfers  had  been  made, 
one  at  New  York,  and  the  other  at  Baltimore,  but 
at  neither  city  was  any  time  allowed  for  seeing 
the  sights.  "  It's  a  case  of  get  there,"  explained 
Caleb  Walton.  "  You  see,  that  Spanish  fleet  may 
sail  for  the  United  States  at  any  moment,  and 
then  Schley  will  be  bound  to  go  out  on  a  hunt 
for  it  in  double-quick  order." 

"  I  see  that  the  Spanish  Cape  Verde  Squadron 
has  joined  the  fleet  at  Cadiz,  which  is  ready  for 
sea,"  observed  Walter,  pointing  to  a  morning  news 
paper  he  had  purchased  on  the  train.  "  There 
are  four  first-class  cruisers,  the  Viscaya,  the  Almi- 


SOMETHING   ABOUT   WAR   AND    PRIZE   MONEY       63 

rante  Oquendo,  the  Infanta  Maria  Teresa,  and  the 
Christobal  Colon,  besides  two  or  three  torpedo-boat 
destroyers.  At  Cadiz  there  are  the  Pelaya,  Al 
fonso  XIII.,  and  several  other  ships.  If  they  all 
come  over  here,  it  seems  to  me  they  may  make 
matters  mighty  warm  for  us." 

"  We  want  'em  warm,"  interrupted  Si  Doring. 
"  1  wouldn't  give  a  rap  for  a  milk-and-water  battle. 
Let  us  have  it  hot,  say  I,  hot,  —  and  knock  the 
Spanish  to  kingdom  come !  " 

"  They  won't  dare  to  send  all  of  the  ships  over," 
said  Caleb  Walton.  "  They  must  guard  their  own 
coast.  If  they  don't,  some  of  our  ships  may  slip 
over  there  and  make  it  interesting  for  them." 

"  Do  you  think  we'll  carry  the  war  to  Spain  ? " 
asked  Walter,  with  deep  interest. 

"  There  is  no  telling,  lad.  Some  folks  have  it 
that  half  of  Europe  will  be  mixed  up  in  this  muss 
before  it's  over.  One  thing  is  certain,  Dewey's 
victory  at  Manila  isn't  going  to  be  such  a  smooth 
thing  out  there,  for  the  Filipinos  are  in  a  state 
of  revolt  and  won't  want  us  to  govern  them  any 
more  than  they  want  the  Spanish ;  and  besides, 
Germany,  France,  and  other  nations  have  big  inter 
ests  there." 


64  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Well,  I  guess  the  best  we  can  do  is  to  look 
out  for  our  little  end,"  smiled  the  boy.  u  As  for 
the  rest,  the  authorities  at  Washington  must  settle 
that." 

"  Well  said,  lad  ;  you  and  I  couldn't  run  the 
government  if  we  tried.  But  we  can  do  our  duty, 
and  that  will  be  to  obey  orders  and  take  what 
comes." 

"  How  is  it  that  you  got  Jim  Haskett  to  enlist  ?  " 
asked  Si. 

"  Oh,  that  fellow  is  after  prize  money,"  was 
the  gunner's  reply.  "  He  has  been  reading  of 
the  luck  down  around  Havana,  and  he  wants  the 
chance  to  earn  a  few  hundred  extra.  Well,  maybe 
he'll  get  it." 

"I've  heard  of  prize  money  before,  but  I  don't 
exactly  know  what  it  is,"  observed  Walter. 

"  It's  the  money  got  out  of  a  captured  ship  when 
she's  sold.  You  see,  when  a  ship  is  captured  she's 
taken  to  some  port  and  turned  over  to  a  prize 
court,  and  if  she  doesn't  turn  out  a  Scotcli  prize 
she  is  knocked  down  under  the  hammer." 

"  I  know  what  you  mean  by  knocking  her  down 
under  the  hammer.  But  why  doesn't  the  rule 
apply  to  a  Scotch  vessel?" 


SOMETHING    ABOUT    WAR    AND   PRIZE   MONEY       65 

At  this  query  of  Walter's  Caleb  Walton  burst 
into  a  roar  of  laughter.  "'It's  easy  to  see  you're 
a  landsman,"  he  said.  "  I  didn't  say  a  Scotch 
vessel ;  I  said  a  Scotch  prize  —  a  ship  captured 
illegally,  and  one  that  must  be  given  back  to  her 
owners.  I  don't  know  where  that  term  came 
from,  but  it's  what  the  men  in  the  navy  always 
use." 

"I  see." 

"A  legitimate  prize  is  sold,  and  then  the  money 
is  divided.  If  the  vessel  captured  was  the  equal 
of  that  taking  her,  then  all  the  prize  money  goes 
to  her  captain  and  crew  ;  but  if  the  captured  ship 
is  inferior,  then  her  takers  get  only  half  of  the 
money,  and  Uncle  Sam  keeps  the  balance." 

"And  what  part  would  I  get  if  my  ship  took 
a  prize  ? "  went  on  Walter,  more  interested  than 
ever,  for  the  question  of  prize  money  had  not 
appealed  to  him  before. 

"  You  would  get  a  share  according  to  your  regu 
lar  pay  —  perhaps  one  dollar  out  of  every  five 
or  ten  thousand." 

"  That  wouldn't  be  much  —  on  a  small  craft." 

"  You  are  right,  lad,  but  it  would  be  a  tidy 
amount  on  a  big  warship  worth  two  or  three  mil- 


66  FIGHTING   IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

lions.  The  division  of  the  prize  money  is  regulated 
according  to  law,  so  there  can't  be  any  quarrelling. 
The  commander  of  a  fleet  gets  one-twentieth,  the 
commander  of  a  ship  one-tenth  of  that  coming  to 
his  ship  (when  there  are  more  ships  than  one 
interested  in  the  prize),  and  so  on,  and  we  all 
get  our  money  even  if  we  are  on  temporary  leave 
of  absence." 

"  But  what  does  Uncle  Sam  do  with  his  share  ?  " 
put  in  Si. 

"  His  share  is  put  into  a  fund  that  is  used  toward 
paying  naval  officers,  seamen,  and  marines  the  pen 
sions  due  them.  These  pensions  are,  of  course, 
not  as  large  as  those  of  the  army,  but  they  are 
considerable." 

"  Well,  I  hope  we  strike  a  big  prize,  or  half  a 
dozen  little  ones,"  said  Walter.  u  On  a  pay  of 
eleven  dollars  a  month  a  fellow  can't  expect  to  get 
very  rich." 

"  Do  your  duty,  lad,  and  you  may  rise  before  the 
war  is  over."  The  old  gunner  caught  Walter  by 
the  arm.  "  Come  with  me,"  and  Caleb  Walton 
arose,  and  led  the  way  to  the  smoking-car.  Won 
dering  what  was  meant  by  this  movement,  Walter 
followed. 


SOMETHING    ABOUT    WAR    AND    PRIZE    MONEY      67 

"  I  want  to  have  a  quiet  talk  with  you,"  went  on 
Caleb  Walton,  after  they  were  seated  in  a  secluded 
corner.  "  Do  you  smoke  ?  " 

"No,  sir." 

"You're  just  as  well  off.  But  I  must  have  my 
pipe."  Caleb  Walton  drew  forth  a  brier-root,  filled 
it  with  a  dark  mixture  of  tobacco,  and  lit  it.  "Ah, 
that's  just  right.  And  now  to  business."  And  he 
threw  one  leg  over  the  other.  For  a  moment  he 
gazed  thoughtfully  at  Walter,  and  the  boy  won 
dered  what  was  coming  next.  He  was  satisfied 
that  it  must  be  of  more  than  ordinary  importance, 
otherwise  the  old  gunner  would  not  have  asked 
him  to  come  to  the  smoking-car,  away  from  their 
companions. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A   GLIMPSE   OF   THE   PRESIDENT 

"You  see  it's  this  way,"  began  Caleb  Walton, 
after  gazing  for  a  moment  at  Walter.  "  Phil  New 
ell  is  your  friend,  isn't  he  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed  !  "  responded  the  boy,  warmly. 

"Exactly — likewise  he  is  my  friend,  too.  We 
served  together  for  years,  and  I  sometimes  looked 
up  to  Phil  as  a  kind  of  elder  brother.  Well,  after 
you  left  us  at  the  navy-yard  he  and  I  had  a  long 
talk  about  you,  and  he  made  me  promise  to  keep 
my  eye  on  you  —  do  you  understand?" 

"I  think  I  do." 

"  Now,  keeping  an  eye  on  you  is  out  of  the  ques 
tion  unless  you  are  placed  where  I  can  see  you." 

"But  aren't  we  both  to  go  aboard  of  the  Brook 
lyn?"  cried  Walter. 

"Yes,  according  to  the  course  we're  steering  now. 
But  both  being  on  the  Brooklyn  doesn't  cover  the 
bill.     I  expect  to  be  in  charge  of  one  of  the  guns  — 
will  be  if  Bill  Darworthy  is  still  in  the  hospital. 


A    GLIMPSE    OF    THE    PRESIDENT  69 

Now  if  you  enter  as  a  mere  boy,  or  even  as  a  lands 
man,  it  may  be  that  you'll  never  get  around  to 
where  I  am.  You  must  remember  that  the  Brooklyn 
is  a  big  ship,  and  all  the  men  on  her  are  divided 
into  classes, — officers,  petty  officers,  seamen,  gunners, 
marines,  and  so  on,  —  and  one  class  is  pretty  well 
separated  from  another." 

"I  presume  that  is  so,  but  I  never  thought  of  it 
before." 

"  Even  seamen  are  divided  into  seamen  gunners, 
apprentices  and  the  like,  and  if  you  went  on  as  a 
mere  boy  you  might  not  see  me  once  a  week,  unless 
we  happened  to  be  off  duty  at  the  same  time." 

"  I  see  what  you  are  driving  at,  Mr.  Walton ; 
you-" 

"  Avast  there,  Walter,  no  mister  for  me,  please. 
I'm  plain  Caleb  Walton." 

"Well  then,  Walton,  you  want  to  get  me  at 
tached  to  that  gun  you  hope  to  have  placed  in  your 
charge  ?  " 

"Now  you've  struck  the  bull's-eye,  lad.  The 
thing  of  it  is,  can  I  manage  it  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  you  must  know  more  about  that  than 
I  do.      I'll  like  it  first-rate  if  you  could,  for  I  — 
well,  to  be  plain,  I  like  you." 


70  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

Caleb  Walton  held  out  his  horny  hand.  "The 
liking  is  mutual,  Walter,  and  there's  my  fist  on  it. 
Now  I  have  an  idee."  The  old  gunner  took  several 
puffs  at  his  pipe.  "  I  know  Captain  Cook  of  the 
Brooklyn  tolerably  well  —  served  under  him  for  a 
short  spell,  and  once  did  a  little  private  business 
for  him.  Now,  Captain  Cook  won't  do  a  thing  as 
is  out  of  his  line  of  duty,  but  still  — 

"  He  may  aid  you  in  having  me  assigned  to  the 

*/  i/  O  O 

gun  you  expect  to  have  charge  of  ? "  finished 
Walter. 

"  That's  it.  I  think  I  can  work  the  deal —  almost 
sure  of  it,  —  but  you  must  help  me." 

"  What  must  I  do  ?  " 

"  Say  nothing  and  leave  it  all  to  me,  and  if  my 
plan  goes  through,  don't  tell  any  one  that  you 
were  favored.  If  you  do,  you'll  only  make  ene 
mies." 

"  I'll  remember  that.  But  what  of  Haskett, 
Doring,  and  the  others?" 

"I'd  like  to  have  Doring  in  my  gang  —  he's  the 
right  sort.  I  don't  want  that  scowling  Jim  Haskett,- 
not  after  what  Doring  has  told  me  of  him.  But 
he's  out  of  it,  anyway,  for  he  enlisted  as  a  first- 
class  seaman,  at  twenty-six  dollars  per  month." 


A   GLIMPSE   OF    THE   PRESIDENT  71 

"  I  wish  I  knew  a  little  more  about  a  warship," 
said  the  youth,  longingly.  "  The  more  I  hear, 
the  less  I  seem  to  know." 

"  It  will  all  come  to  you  in  time,  and  when  you 
are  on  board  I'll  show  you  all  I  can.  It  would 
do  no  good  to  talk  about  guns  and  the  like  until 
I  can  point  out  the  different  parts  to  you,  for  you 
wouldn't  know  a  breech-block  from  a  priming-wire 
until  you  laid  eyes  on  it." 

"  But  how  is  a  ship  commanded  ?  Won't  you 
tell  me  something  about  that  ?  " 

"  Of  course  you  mean  a  warship,  not  a  merchant 
man.  Well,  the  highest  officer  is,  of  course,  the 
captain,  although  the  vessel  may  be  the  flagship 
of  a  commodore  or  an  admiral." 

"  And  what  of  a  commodore  and  an  admiral  ? 
You  see  I'm  awfully  green,  when  it  comes  down 
to  the  navy.  My  younger  brother  Larry  is  the 
real  sailor  in  our  family." 

"  You'll  get  there,  lad ;  anybody  will  who  is 
in  for  learning  as  you  are.  An  admiral  is  the 
highest  officer  in  any  navy,  and  he  commands 
everything  that  floats,  from  battleship  to  despatch 
tug.  Next  to  him  is  the  vice-admiral.  In  the 
United  States  navy  these  offices  don't  exist  any 


72  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

more,  having  died  out  with  the  deaths  of  Admiral 
Porter  and  Vice- Admiral  Ilowan." 

"  But  the  newspapers  speak  of  Admiral  Samp 
son." 

"  He  is  acting  rear-admiral,  but  holds  only  the 
office  of  commodore.  He  commands  a  fleet  of 
warships,  while  a  commodore  commands  only  a 
squadron  ;  that  is,  four  or  six,  usually,  although 
he  may  have  more  at  times.  His  ships  are  generally 
divided  into  two  divisions." 

"I  understand.     Please  go  on." 

"  Well,  as  I  said  before,  the  captain  really  com 
mands  the  ship.  Next  to  him  are  the  commander 
and  the  lieutenant-commander.  The  first  of  these 
takes  orders  from  the  captain  and  issues  them  to 
those  under  him.  The  lieutenant-commander  is 
called  the  executive  officer,  and  he's  always  put 
down  as  the  hardest  worked  man  on  the  ship. 
What  he  does  would  fill  a  book,  and  he  rarely 
gets  leave  of  absence,  for  nobody  can  spare  him." 

"  But  what  does  he  do  ?  " 

"  Well,  in  the  first  place  he  sees  that  the  whole 
crew  keeps  straight,  and  he  keeps  a  conduct  book  for 
reference.  He  hears  all  complaints  and  straightens 
out  all  difficulties.  He  sees  to  it  that  the  ship  is 


A   GLIMPSE   OF    THE   PRESIDENT  73 

kept  clean,  and  he  has  the  say  about  arranging 
messes.  He  must  also  station  the  hands  for  the 
various  fire,  sail,  and  boat  drills,  the  gun  exercises, 
and  the  drills  with  small-arms  and  cutlasses.  Then 
every  night  at  eight  o'clock  he  receives  the  reports 
of  petty  officers,  to  show  that  each  department  is 
O.  K.  up  to  that  hour.  And  there  is  a  lot  more 
besides." 

"  Thanks,  but  I  don't  care  to  be  an  executive 
officer,"  smiled  Walter.  "  But  perhaps  he  gets 
well  paid  for  it." 

"  He  earns  from  twenty-eight  hundred  to  three 
thousand  dollars  per  year.  The  commander  gets 
five  hundred  more  than  that.  A  commodore  gets 
five  thousand  a  year,  arid  a  rear-admiral  six  thou 
sand,  when  at  sea.  When  on  shore  all  these  figures 
are  slightly  reduced." 

"Those  are  nice  salaries." 

"  That  is  true.  But  don't  forget  that  every 
body  on  the  ship  in  the  shape  of  an  officer  must 
board  himself.  The  crew  does  that  too,  but 
Uncle  Sam  makes  them  an  allowance  for  that 
purpose." 

"  Don't  the  higher  officers  get  anything  ?  " 

"  They  have  a  ration  allowed  them  —  that  or  thirty 


74  FIGHTING   IX   CUBAN    WATERS 

cents.  Of  course  such  a  ration  cuts  no  figure  with 
a  commander  or  a  captain." 

"  I  suppose  that's  so.  But  please  go  on.  Who 
is  next  to  the  executive  officer  ?  " 

"  The  junior  lieutenant,  and  then  come  the 
ensigns  and  naval  cadets ;  that  is,  those  young 
fellows  from  Annapolis  who  are  studying  up  to 
become  higher  officers." 

"And  after  that  what?" 

"  Then  come  the  warrant  officers,  that  is,  those 
warranted  by  our  President,  and  they  include  boat 
swain,  gunner,  carpenter,  and  sail-maker.  And 
you  mustn't  forget  the  marines  —  the  soldier- 
sailors." 

"  Gracious,  what  a  lot !     Any  more  ?  " 

"  We  are  not  half  through,  lad,  but  the  others 
will  explain  themselves  by  their  titles,  such  as 
chief  engineer,  chief  surgeon,  paymaster,  and  chap 
lain.  The  chaplain  holds  the  relative  position  to  a 
captain  or  a  commander,  but  his  whole  duty  is  to 
hold  church  and  keep  the  men  from  going  wrong, 
morally  and  spiritually.  Besides  these,  we  have 
boatswain's  mate,  gunner's  mate,  and  the  like. 
Then  among  the  seamen  the  leading  men  are 
called  captains ;  as,  for  instance,  captain  of  the 


A   GLIMPSE    OF   THE    PRESIDENT  75 

top,  captain  of  the  afterguard,  and  like  that.  You'll 
soon  get  to  know  them  all,  never  fear." 

"  How  will  I  know  them  —  by  their  uniforms  ?  " 

"  By  their  uniforms,  and  also  by  the  stripes  and 
devices  they  wear.  Don't  you  see  this  flaming 
spherical  shell  of  silver  that  I  wear  ?  That  shows 
that  I  am  a  gunner  and  have  seen  over  twenty 
years  of  service.  If  I  was  a  gunner  with  less  time 
to  my  credit,  the  shell  would  be  of  gold." 

"  And  does  everybody  wear  some  device  ?  " 

"  Everybody,  from  a  rear-admiral  with  his  two 
silver  stars  and  anchor  down  to  the  apprentice 
who  has  his  figure  8  knot.  If  I  get  to  be  a  chief 
gunner,  I'll  wear  two  crossed  cannons  instead  of 
this  shell." 

"  And  if  you  got  to  be  a  captain,  what  would 
you  wear  ?  " 

"  A  silver  spread  eagle,  with  an  anchor  at  each 
end,  on  my  shoulders." 

"  That's  another  deal  to  learn.  I  should  think 
a  fellow  would  get  mixed  on  all  these  stars,  eagles, 
shells,  cannons,  and  the  rest." 

"It  takes  time  to  learn,  lad.  Let  me  give  you 
a  bit  of  advice.  If  you  meet  another  person  on 
shipboard  and  you  are  in  doubt  about  it,  salute. 


76  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

You  may  be  making  a  mistake,  but  it  will  be  a 
mistake  on  the  right  side." 

"I'll  remember  that.  But  I  feel  as  if  I  had 
more  than  ever  to  learn.  Can't  I  get  some  book 
and  study  it?" 

"I've  got  such  a  work  in  my  valise.  I'll  get  it 
for  you,"  concluded  Caleb  Walton,  and  he  arose. 
"  But  remember  about  that  other  thing  —  mum  is 
the  word." 

"I  certainly  shall  remember,"  and  Walter  smiled. 
"  I'm  awfully  glad  I've  found  such  a  friend  as  you," 
and  he  squeezed  the  old  gunner's  hand. 

They  returned  to  the  other  car,  and  soon  Walter 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  volume  which  Caleb 
Walton  loaned  him.  It  was  a  technical  \vork, 
issued  by  the  authority  of  the  Navy  Department, 
and  contained  all  that  he  desired  to  learn,  and  a 
deal  besides. 

"  Going  to  learn  your  duty  as  soon  as  possible, 
eh  ? "  observed  Si  Doring,  as  he  looked  over  the 
boy's  shoulder.  "  That's  right.  If  you  want 
to  know  anything  about  sails  or  knots,  call  on 
me." 

"  What's  the  matter  with  calling  on  me  ? "  put 
in  the  voice  of  Jim  Haskett,  as  he  slid  into  the 


A   GLIMPSE   OF   THE   PRESIDENT  77 

seat  behind  them,  and  leaned  over.  "  I  reckon  I 
know  as  much  as  Doring  about  a  ship,  and  maybe 
a  leetle  more." 

At  this  Si  Doring  fired  up  on  the  instant.  "  See 
here,  Haskett,  I  ain't  under  ye  no  longer,  remem 
ber  that  !  "  he  cried.  "  I  don't  want  you  to  talk 
to  me,  or  about  me.  I  owe  you  one,  and  more,  and 
I  ain't  forgetting  it  —  remember  that  !  " 

"  Oh,  don't  get  on  a  high  horse,"  growled  the 
former  mate  of  the  Sunflower.  "  I  won't  talk  to 
you  if  you  don't  want  me  to." 

"  And  ye  needn't  talk  about  me,  either.  Think 
ye  know  a  leetle  more  about  a  ship  than  I  do,  eh  ? 
Well,  maybe  Captain  Pepperill  didn't  think  so, 
when  you  let  the  Sunfloiver  split  her  foremast  in 
that  blow  off  —  " 

"  I  wasn't  responsible  for  that !  "  interrupted 
Jim  Haskett,  his  surly  face  growing  red.  "  You 
let  the  past  drop,  and  I'll  let  it  drop."  He  glared 
savagely  at  Si,  then  turned  to  Walter.  "  Do  you 
want  some  p'ints  explained,  Russell  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  would  just  as  lief  study  this 
book  for  the  present,"  answered  Walter,  coldly, 
and  somewhat  astonished  to  learn  that  Haskett 
knew  his  name. 


78  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Maybe  I  can  make  some  p'ints  clearer.  I'm 
an  old  sea-dog,  you  know." 

"  I  think  Doring  can  explain  all  I  wish  to  know," 
continued  the  boy,  feeling  he  ought  to  stick  up  for 
the  Yankee  who  had  made  himself  so  agreeable 
since  leaving  Boston. 

"  Don't  want  my  advice,  then  ?  " 

"I  think  not." 

"  All  right,  then,  suit  yourself.  If  you  want  to 
cotton  to  such  a  fellow  as  Doring,  you  can  do  so, 
but  "  —  he  lowered  his  voice  —  "I  reckon  you 
are  making  a  mistake."  And  then,  before  either 
Walter  or  Si  could  answer,  he  bounced  up,  and 
strode  down  the  aisle  and  into  the  smoker. 

The  train  was  approaching  Washington,  and 
shortly  after  this  conversatio.n  it  rolled  into  the 
depot  at  the  Capitol  city,  and  came  to  a  standstill. 

"  We  stop  here  for  fifteen  minutes,"  said  the 
porter  to  Walter,  when  questioned  on  the  point. 
"  Give  you  sailor-boys  time  to  stretch  your  shoah 
legs."  And  he  grinned,  having  been  on  a  warship 
himself  once,  serving  as  a  "  striker,"  •  —  one  who 
waits  on  the  mess  tables. 

"  Let  us  take  a  few  minutes'  walk ;  I  am  all 
cramped  up,"  said  Walter  to  his  Yankee  friend ; 


A    GLIMPSE    OF    THE    PRESIDENT  79 

and  Si  readily  agreed.  Caleb  Walton  was  willing 
they  should  go,  but  warned  them  not  to  stay  too 
long. 

"  Fifteen  minutes  don't  mean  sixteen ;  remember 
that,"  he  called  after  them. 

"  I  should  like  to  spend  a  few  days  here,"  ob 
served  Walter,  as  he  and  his  companion  hurried 
on.  "  The  Capitol,  patent  offices,  and  other  build 
ings  must  be  very  interesting." 

"  I'd  rather  see  President  McKinley,"  returned 
the  Yankee.  "  My,  but  he  must  have  his  hands 
full  these  days  !  " 

"  Do  you  want  to  see  the  President  ? "  ques 
tioned  a  man  who  was  just  passing  them.  "  If 
you  do,  he's  in  his  carriage  three  blocks  below 
here.  There's  a  cave-in  of  a  sewer,  and  his  car 
riage  just  stopped." 

"  Then  here's  our  chance,  Si !  "  cried  Walter, 
eagerly.  "  Come  on  ;  we  can  make  it  if  we  run.  I 
wouldn't  miss  seeing  the  President  for  a  good 
deal  !  " 

"  Thet's  me  !  "  burst  out  the  Yankee.  "  Off  we 
go ! "  And  he  started  to  run,  his  long  legs  giving 
Walter  all  he  could  do  to  keep  up  with  him.  The 
three  blocks  were  covered,  and  they  came  to  where 


80  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

the  cave-in  was  located,  but  only  some  very  ordi 
nary  vehicles  were  in  sight. 

"  We're  too  late  !  "  grumbled  Si,  crestfallen. 
"  Gome  on  back." 

"  Too  late  for  phwat  ?  "  asked  an  Irishman  stand 
ing  near  the  sewer. 

"We  wanted  to  see  the  President." 

"  Sure  an'  there  goes  his  carriage  down  beyant." 
And  the  Irishman  pointed  to  a  side  street. 

It  was  still  less  than  a  block  away,  and  without 
stopping  to  think  twice  they  made  after  it,  and 
came  up  just  as  it  was  turning  a  corner.  A  very 
trim  driver  sat  on  the  box  of  the  turn-out,  and  on 
the  rear  seat,  the  sole  occupant  of  the  carriage,  sat 
our  country's  chief  executive. 

"  Hurrah  !  "  shouted  Walter,  impulsively,  and 
waved  his  cap,  and  Si  did  the  same.  Several 
others  bowed  and  tipped  their  hats,  and  the  Presi 
dent  bowed  and  tipped  his  silk  hat  in  return. 
Then  the  carriage  rolled  swiftly  away. 

"  It  was  him  all  right  enough,"  exclaimed  Si, 
enthusiastically,  and  with  a  total  disregard  for 
grammar.  ';  He  looks  jest  like  his  pictures,  only  a 
little  more  care-worn.  I  suppose  he  loses  lots  o' 
sleep  these  nights." 


THE  PRESIDENT  BOWED  IN  RETURN. 

Pare  80 


A    GLIMPSE    OF   THE    PRESIDENT  81 

"Yes,  indeed.  Being  the  President  isn't  the 
easiest  berth  in  the  world.  If  I  —  Walter 
broke  off  short.  "  Our  train  —  I'll  wager  a  dollar 
we'll  miss  it !  " 

"  Creation  !  don't  say  that  !  "  gasped  Si ;  and 
then  both  took  to  their  heels  as  if  running  the 
race  of  their  lives. 


CHAPTER   VII 

A  TALK   ABOUT   SPANISH   SAILOES 

"  THE  train  is  gone  !  " 

It  was  Walter  who  gasped  out  the  words,  as 
lie  and  his  companion  rushed  upon  the  depot  plat 
form.  In  the  distance  they  could  see  the  end  of 
the  rear  car  just  vanishing  from  view  in  a  cloud 
of  dust. 

"  Thet's  so  !  "  groaned  Si,  panting  for  breath, 
for  they  had  done  their  best  to  reach  the  depot 
in  time.  "  What's  to  be  the  next  move  ? "  And  he 
looked  anxiously  at  his  companion. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  was  Walter's  slow 
answer.  "I  —  I  almost  wish  I  hadn't  seen  the 
President  —  now." 

"  Can't  we  take  a  later  train  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  if  the  tickets  will  be  good.  Cer 
tainly  we'll  have  no  sleeping  accommodations  for 
to-night. 

"Who  cares  for  that,  so  long  as  we  get  to  For- 

82 


A   TALK   ABOUT   SPANISH   SAILOES  83 

tress  Monroe?  Come  on,  let  us  see  what  can  be 
done."  And  Si  led  the  way  to  the  ticket  office. 

The  ticket-seller  was  busy,  and  it  was  several 
minutes  before  they  could  get  to  him.  "  Yes, 
there  will  be  another  train  in  an  hour  and  a  quar 
ter,"  he  said.  "About  your  tickets,  did  you  have 
stop-over  privileges  ?  " 

"We  did  not — we  didn't  intend  to  stop  over," 
answered  Walter. 

"Then  I  don't  believe  the  conductor  will  accept 
them." 

"  Gee  shoo  !  "  groaned  Si,  dismally.  "  Do  you 
mean  to  say  we've  got  to  pay  the  fare  from  here 
to  our  destination  ?  Why,  it  will  take  all  I've 
got  with  me,  and  maybe  more." 

"  There  ought  to  be  some  way  of  having  our 
tickets  fixed  up,"  said  Walter.  "  Can't  we  go  to 
the  main  office  and  see  about  them  ? " 

"  Certainly,  if  you  desire,"  rejoined  the  ticket 
seller,  and  turned  to  a  number  of  others  who  were 
waiting  impatiently  to  be  served. 

The  main  offices  of  the  railroad  company  were 
not  far  distant,  and  hither  they  made  their  way. 
Inside,  a  young  clerk  learned  what  they  wanted, 
and  then  took  them  to  an  inner  apartment. 


84  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Government  fares,  eh  ?  "  questioned  the  elderly 
gentleman  to  whom  they  had  been  conducted. 
"What  was  the  reason  you  didn't  catch  your  train?  " 

"  We  lingered  to  see  President  McKinley,  who 
was  out  in  his  carriage,"  said  Walter.  "  We  got 
so  interested  we  forgot  the  time  until  we  were 
just  about  a  minute  late." 

"  Well,  I  can't  blame  you  much  for  wanting  to 
see  the  man  you  are  lighting  under,"  said  the 
railroad  official.  "  Let  me  see  your  tickets."  And, 
taking  them,  he  wrote  upon  the  back  of  each  in 
blue  pencil.  "There  you  are,  but  you'll  have  to 
ride  in  an  ordinary  coach." 

"  We  don't  care  if  it  is  a  freight,"  put  in  Si, 
earnestly.  "We  want  to  get  there."  And,  after 
both  had  thanked  the  official  for  his  kindness,  they 
withdrew. 

"  We're  all  right  so  far,"  observed  Walter,  as 
"to  kill  time,"  they  walked  slowly  down  one  of 
the  broad  avenues  for  which  our  Capitol  city  is 
famous.  "  The  question  is,  what  will  Caleb  Walton 
think  of  us  when  he  finds  us  missing  ? 

"  I  hope  he  doesn't  think  we  are  trying  to 
desert !  "  cried  Walter,  to  whom  this  idea  had  not 
before  occurred. 


A   TALK   ABOUT   SPANISH   SAILOKS  85 

"  Some  fellows  wouldn't  be  any  too  good  to  de 
sert,  Walter.  Only  last  week  a  lot  of  fellows 
deserted  on  their  way  from  one  of  the  western 
states.  They  got  to  Chicago,  where  they  wanted 
to  go,  and  that  was  the  last  seen  of  them.  They 
were  like  tramps  —  willing  to  do  anything  for  a 
free  ride  on  the  cars.  But  they  ran  the  risk  of 
being  court-martialled  for  it." 

"  I  think  the  fact  that  we  had  our  tickets  fixed 
up  will  go  to  show  what  our  intentions  were,  Si. 
However,  we  have  put  our  feet  into  it,  and  must 
take  what  conies." 

After  a  walk  of  half  an  hour,  both  felt  hungry 
and  entered  a  modest-looking  restaurant  on  a  side 
street.  They  had  just  ordered  a  cheap  meal  each, 
when  a  newsboy  entered  with  a  bundle  of  after 
noon  newspapers. 

"  Have  a  paper,  sir  ?  Extra,  sir ;  all  about  the 
Flying  Squadron  going  to  sail.  Only  one  cent, 
sir." 

"What's  that?"  questioned  Walter.  "Here, 
give  me  a  paper."  And  he  grasped  the  sheet 
eagerly,  while  Si  also  purchased  one  of  another 
sort.  Soon  both  were  devouring  the  "scare-heads" 
showing  upon  each. 


86 


THE  FLYIXG  SQUADROX  READY  TO  SAIL! 

Schley  and  His  Warships  May  Leave  Hampton  Roads 

To-night ! 

The  Spanish  Fleet  Said  To  Be  On  Its  Way  Westward! 
Has  It  Sailed  for  Cuba  or  Will  It  Bombard  Some 

City  on  Our  Coast? 

The  Authorities  Very  Reticent,  but  a  Strict  Watch 

To  Be  Kept  from  Maine  to  Florida  for  the  Appearance 

of  the  Enemy ! 

"  By  ginger,  they're  a-comin'  over  here,  sure 
pop  !  "  burst  from  the  Yankee  youth's  lips.  "  Sup 
posing  they  bombard  New  York?  Why,  I  heard 
tell  that  they  could  lay  out  in  the  harbor  and  plant 
a  shell  right  on  the  top  of  Trinity  Church,  or 
come  up  to  Boston  Harbor  and  knock  the  top 
off  of  the  Bunker  Hill  monument !  " 

"  Our  ships  and  forts  won't  give  them  the  chance 
to  come  so  close,  Si.  But  what  I'm  thinking  of 
is,  supposing  the  warships  sail  before  we  can  get 
on  board?" 

"  Thet's  so  !  "  Si  Doring  heaved  a  long  sigh. 
"  Why  didn't  we  wait  some  other  time  for  to  see 
the  President  ?  If  we  miss  the  ships,  I  don't  know 
what  we'll  do.  We'll  be  stranded." 


A   TALK   ABOUT   SPANISH   SAILORS  87 

"  Oh,  I  presume,  they'll  put  us  on  some  other 
vessel.  But  my  heart  was  set  on  getting  aboard 
the  Brooklyn.''''  And  Walter  sighed,  too. 

Both  had  lost  interest  in  eating,  and  swallowed 
the  food  mechanically.  Then,  without  waiting, 
they  hurried  back  to  the  depot,  bound  that  the 
next  train  should  not  slip  by. 

The  route  to  Fortress  Monroe  was  by  way  of 
Fredericksburg,  Richmond,  and  Newport  News.  Soon 
the  train  came  along  and  they  got  aboard.  The 
cars  were  comfortable,  but  not  nearly  so  elegant 
as  the  one  previously  occupied. 

"  It  is  odd  to  me  to  see  separate  cars  for  negroes 
and  whites,"  observed  W alter,  after  the  journey 
had  begun.  "  We  don't  have  any  such  thing  up 
North." 

"  They  will  be  done  away  with  in  time,  I  guess," 
answered  Si.  "By  the  way,  I  see  in  this  news 
paper  that  among  the  first  troops  to  be  sent  to 
Cuba  will  be  two  regiments  of  negroes.  Hurrah 
for  those  boys,  say  I." 

It  was  growing  dark,  and  soon  the  car  lamps 
were  lighted.  The  boys  read  their  newspapers 
through  from  end  to  end,  and  Walter  learned  that 
the  volunteer  regiments  were  everywhere  being 


88  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

sworn  into  the  United  States  service  as  rapidly 
as  possible. 

"  I  wonder  who  will  get  to  the  front  first  ?  "  he 
mused.  "  It  would  be  odd  if  they  should  send 
Ben  to  the  Philippines  instead  of  Cuba.  If  only 
Larry  was  with  me  to  go  into  the  navy.  I  am 
sure  he  would  enjoy  this  sort  of  service."  And 
thus  musing,  he  dropped  asleep,  never  dreaming 
of  the  part  his  younger  brother  had  taken  in  the 
contest  of  Manila  Bay. 

"  Richmond  !  Change  cars  for  James  City,  Wil- 
liamsburg,  and  Newport  News  ! "  Such  was  the 
cry  which  awoke  him.  He  arose  sleepily,  to  find 
Si  snoring  heavily. 

"  Si,  wake  up !  "  he  cried,  and  shook  his  com 
panion.  "  We  have  to  change  here." 

"  Change  —  for  what  ?  "  questioned  the  Yankee, 
as  he  blinked  his  eyes  in  the  glare  of  an  electric 
light.  "  How  far  have  we  got  ?  " 

"  Richmond.  Come  —  the  other  train  leaves  in 
a  few  minutes." 

It  was  early  morning,  and  the  depot  platform 
was  deserted  excepting  for  the  passengers  that 
left  the  train.  Soon  the  second  train  rolled  in, 
and  they  found  a  double  seat,  and  proceeded  to 
make  themselves  comfortable. 


A   TALK    ABOUT    SPANISH    SAILORS  89 

"  By  ginger  !  I  never  thought  of  'em  before," 
remarked  Si,  suddenly. 

"What?" 

"  Our  satchels,  that  we  left  in  that  first  train." 

"I  had  mine  checked  through." 

"  I  didn't,  because  I  wanted  to  look  over  some 
things  of  mine  on  the  way  down."  Si  shook  his 
head  in  dejection.  "  Say,  but  ain't  I  running  up 
against  the  worst  luck  ever  was  !  I'll  bet  a 
new  pocket-knife  the  satchel  is  gone  when  I  get 
to  the  end  of  this  trip." 

"  Oh,  I  hope  not,  Si.  Did  it  contain  much  of 
value  ?  " 

"  It  had  my  clothing  in,  a  Bible  that  my  mother 
gave  me,  and  a  ten-dollar  gold  piece  that  I've 
been  carrying  around  for  twelve  years  for  luck, 
because  it  was  given  to  me  by  a  South  American 
rain-maker,  a  kind  of  water-witch  I  met  in  San 
Luiz,  Brazil.  And  that  ain't  the  worst  on  it, 
either.  The  grip  wasn't  locked." 

"It's  too  bad.  But  let  us  hope  it's  all  right,  Si. 
Anyway,  I  wouldn't  worry  until  you  know  the 
truth,"  said  Walter,  trying  to  put  a  bright  face  on 
the  matter,  and  then  he  dropped  asleep  again,  and 
the  Yankee  youth  presently  followed  his  example. 


90  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

Luckily  the  train  ran  right  through  from  New 
port  News  to  Hampton,  which  is  within  two  miles 
and  a  half  of  Old  Point  Comfort  and  Fortress 
Alunroe.  The  ride  proved  uneventful,  and  when 
they  reached  Hampton  they  fell  directly  into  the 
arms  of  Caleb  Walton. 

"  What  does  this  mean  ? "  demanded  the  old 
gunner,  as  he  caught  each  by  the  arm.  "  Missed 
the  train,  eh?  I  told  you  to  be  careful." 

"  We'll  know  better  next  time,"  answered  Wal 
ter.  "  But  what  of  the  Flying  Squadron  ?  Has 
it  sailed?" 

"Not  yet,  but  the  ships  may  leave  Hampton 
Roads  at  any  hour.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  wait 
for  this  train  and  then  go  on.  I  sent  the  others 
ahead." 

"  What  of  my  satchel  ? "  put  in  Si. 

"It's  in  the  baggage  room.  But  hurry  up; 
every  hour  counts  just  about  now."  And  he  led 
the  way  to  where  the  .bag  had  been  left. 

"  Here  is  a  big  wagon  bound  for  the  fort,"  said 
Walton,  as  they  left  the  station.  "  We'll  ride 
down  on  that,  for  the  soldiers  in  charge  gave  me 
permission,  should  you  show  up." 

The    wagon  was   loaded  with    blankets,  and   the 


A   TALK   ABOUT    SPANISH   SAILORS  91 

pile  made  a  soft  seat.  Soon  there  came  a  crack 
of  a  whip,  and  they  were  off,  down  a  sandy  high 
way  leading  directly  to  the  sea.  Soon  the  salt  air 
filled  their  nostrils. 

"Oh,  we're  in  good  shape  to  give  the  Dons  a 
hot  reception,  if  they  show  themselves  around  here," 
said  one  of  the  soldiers,  in  reply  to  a  question  from 
Walter.  "  We've  got  some  of  the  finest  guns  in 
the  country  at  the  fort,  and  can  reach  a  ship  ten 
or  twelve  miles  out  in  the  harbor." 

"  I  should  like  very  much  to  inspect  a  real 
fort,"  answered  the  youth.  "  The  guns  must  be 
even  more  complicated  than  on  board  a  warship." 

"The  disappearing  guns  are  very  fine.  But  I 
doubt  if  you  could  get  permission  to  go  through 
now  —  at  least,  not  until  you  were  duly  enlisted 
into  the  navy  and  had  your  uniform  on.  You 
know  we  have  strict  orders  to  keep  all  outsiders 
at  a  distance.  We  don't  want  any  Spanish  spies 
to  get  plans  of  our  hidden  batteries  and  the  fort 
itself." 

"  Would  they  dare  to  try  to  get  them  ? "  asked 
Si.  "  Tears  to  me  that  would  be  a  mighty  risky 
piece  of  business." 

"  Certainly  they  would  try.     You  mustn't  think 


92  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

that  all  Spaniards  are  cowards —  even  if  the 
authorities  are  responsible  for  blowing  up  the 
Maine.  They'll  give  us  a  good  shake  up,  if  they 
get  the  chance." 

"I  don't  think  so,"  said  Caleb  Walton.  "They 
are  not  as  up-to-date  as  we  are.  I  know  we  can 
beat  'em  at  gun  practice  every  round." 

"  Don't  brag.     Wait  till  the  war  is  over." 

"  I'm  not  bragging  —  only  talking  facts,  sergeant. 
I  have  a  friend  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy-Yard,  and 
he  wrote  to  me  about  the  gunners  on  the  Vizcaya, 
when  that  Spanish  warship  was  lying  off  Staten 
Island  this  spring.  He  said  they  were —  well 
tired,  I  reckon  we'd  call  it,  —  and  didn't  have 
any  drills  worth  mentioning  all  the  while  the 
ship  was  there  Now  you  know  that  won't  do." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  know  a  man  must  keep  at  his  drills 
if  he  doesn't  want  to  grow  rusty." 

"  Besides  that,  you  must  remember  that  four- 
fifths  of  their  sailors  don't  enlist  for  themselves. 
They  are  shanghied  out  of  the  seaport  towns, 
made  drunk,  and  taken  on  the  ships  like  so  many 
cattle,  and  they  are  lucky  if  they  get  away  inside 
of  ten  or  fifteen  years.  And  in  addition  the  cat- 
o'-nine  tails  is  always  dangling  afore  their  eyes. 


A    TALK   ABOUT   SPANISH   SAILORS  93 

Now  a  man  treated  like  that  can't  make  a  good 
sailor,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  knows  he  has 
been  treated  unjustly,  and  he  can't  take  an  interest 
in  his  duties." 

"  Gracious,  don't  you  think  you  are  stretching 
it  a  bit?"  put  in  Walter.  "What  of  their 
officers  ?  " 

"  Nearly  every  one  of  them  comes  from  the 
ranks  of  the  nobility,  and  that  takes  a  good 
deal  of  ambition  from  the  men,  too,  knowing  it 
will  be  next  to  impossible  for  them  to  rise,  even 
to  a  petty  office.  Now  in  our  navy  it's  totally 
different.  A  man  enlists  of  his  own  free  will,  he 
is  treated  fairly  even  though  subject  to  rigorous 
discipline,  and  if  it's  in  him  he  can  rise  to  quite  a 
respectable  office  and  earn  a  good  salary  —  and 
he's  certain  to  get  his  money,  while  the  Spanish 
sailors  and  soldiers  go  without  a  cent  for  months 
and  months." 

"  I  know  what  you  say  about  wages  is  true," 
said  the  sergeant  in  command  of  the  army  wagon. 
"  I  have  it  from  a  friend  who  left  Havana  when 
Lee,  our  consul,  came  away,  that  the  majority  of 
the  Spanish  troops  stationed  about  the  city  hadn't 
seen  a  pay-day  for  nearly  a  year." 


94  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

"  And  then  there  is  another  thing,"  continued 
Caleb  Walton.  "  The  Spaniards  have  little  me 
chanical  ability,  and  before  this  war  broke  out 
they  had  a  great  number  of  engineers  and  the  like 
who  were  foreign  born  —  Englishmen,  Frenchmen, 
and  Germans  principally  Now  those  men  won't 
stay  on  Spain's  warships  during  this  little  muss,  — 
at  least  the  Englishmen  and  Germans  won't,  —  and 
a  green  hand  at  a  marine  engine  can  do  more  dam 
age  in  ten  minutes  than  a  ship-yard  can  repair  in 
a  month.  Take  it,  all  in  all,  therefore,  I  think  we 
have  the  best  of  it,"  concluded  the  old  gunner. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE   MEN   BEHIND   THE   GUNS 

BY  the  time  Fortress  Monroe  was  reached  it  was 
quite  dark,  so  but  little  could  be  seen  outside  of 
those  sturdy  and  frowning  walls  behind  which 
were  concealed  the  heavy  guns  intended  to  pro 
tect  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay. 

The  warships  rode  at  anchor  some  distance  be 
yond.  To  the  squadron  had  just  been  added  the 
protected  cruiser  Minneapolis,  and  the  New  Orleans 
and  St.  Paul  were  also  expected,  and  all  was  a 
buzz  of  excitement  alongshore. 

"They'll  be  off  before  long,"  said  one  old  sol 
dier.  "  I  know  because  I  saw  one  of  the  captains 
saying  good-by  to  his  family.  Such  a  parting 
means  a  good  deal." 

"  I  understand  a  Spanish  warship  was  sighted 
last  night,"  put  in  another.  "  We  may  have  a 
fight  right  here  unless  Schley  keeps  his  eyes  open." 

"  Oh,  he's  got  the  Scorpion  out  on  scout  duty  — 
95 


96  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

she  can  take  care  of  any  sneak  work,"  Avas  the 
answer.  He  referred  to  the  gunboat  Scorpion  of 
the  auxiliary  navy,  which  Avas  doing  duty  just 
beyond  the  capes.  The  Scorpion  Avas  fast,  and 
carried  a  strong  searchlight,  so  it  Avas  likely  noth 
ing  could  pass  her  without  being  detected  and  the 
alarm  being  giA'en.  Alarms  Avere  numerous,  but 
they  Avere  likewise  all  false,  for  no  Spanish  ship  of 
Avar  came  anywhere  near  our  coast. 

A  boat  Avas  in  Avaiting  at  the  \vharf,  and  Walter, 
Si,  and  the  others  Avere  ordered  aboard  Avithout 
delay.  The  boat  Avas  manned  by  eight  sturdy 
jackies. 

"  Up  oars  !  "  came  the  command,  and  up  Avent 
the  eight  blades  straight  into  the  air  ;  "  Let  fall !  " 
and  the  oars  fell  into  the  Avater  ;  "  Give  Avay  !  " 
and  the  blades  moved  in  a  clock-like  stroke,  and 
they  Avere  off  to  the  ships.  It  Avas  destined  to  be 
many  a  day  before  Walter  should  set  foot  on  land 
again. 

"  Halt  !  Avho  goes  there  ? "  came  suddenly  from 
out  of  the  darkness,  and  Walter  saAV  that  they 
Avere  lying  beside  Avhat  looked  to  be  a  bulging 
Avail  of  dark-colored  steel. 

"  Aye  !    aye  !  "    Avas   the  ansAver,   and  there  fol- 


THE  MEN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS         97 

lowed  a  short  talk.  "  Got  ten  of  them,  sir,"  said 
the  wardroom  officer,  in  charge  of  the  small  boat. 
Then  a  rope  ladder  was  thrown  down,  and  the 
newcomers  clambered  aboard  the  warship  that  was 
to  be  their  home  for  so  long  to  come. 

Walter  gazed  about  him  eagerly,  but  that  look 
was  hardly  satisfactory,  for  to  the  darkness  was 
now  added  a  heavy  fog  through  which  the  ship's 
lights  shone  but  faintly.  All  had  their  baggage, 
and  without  ceremony  they  were  told  to  fall  in, 
and  were  then  inarched  below  by  order  of  the  offi 
cer  of  the  deck. 

"This  looks  like  home  to  me,"  exclaimed  Caleb 
Walton,  as  he  gazed  around  the  berth  deck.  "  I 
went  over  the  Brooklyn  many  a  time  when  she 
was  up  at  the  navy-yard,  so  I  know  her  from  stem 
to  stern."  He  took  Walter  by  the  arm.  "Here 
is  the  baby  I  hope  to  manage,"  he  whispered,  and 
pointed  to  one  of  the  starboard  monsters,  whose 
long  muzzle  pointed  frowningly  outward.  "  Isn't 
she  a  daisy  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  she  is,"  was  the  boy's  reply.  "  But 
how  in  the  world  do  you  manage  such  a  mass  of 
metal?  Surely  a  man  can't  do  it  by  hand." 

"  It     might     be     done    by   hand,    but    nowaday 


98  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

everything  is  worked  by  electricity  and  hydraulic 
pressure.  You'll  learn  it  all  after  you  have  been 
on  board  awhile.  At  present  just  do  what  you 
are  told  and  keep  your  eyes  open." 

Supper  had  been  served  some  time  before,  but 
as  it  was  not  intended  to  let  the  newcomers  go 
hungry,  a  table  was  set  and  they  messed  together. 
The  swinging  table  and  the  tableware  all  inter 
ested  Walter,  especially  when  he  was  provided 
with  his  own  personal  cup,  plate,  spoon,  knife,  and 
fork. 

"  As  a  gunner  I'll  mess  with  the  other  warrant 
officers,"  exclaimed  Caleb  Walton,  in  reply  to  a 
question  about  messes  from  Walter.  "  You  see, 
there  are  a  great  number  of  tables.  The  com 
modore  is  entitled  to  dine  alone,  so  is  the  captain 
and  the  commander,  while  the  other  officers  have 
what  they  call  the  wardroom  mess.  Then  there 
are  the  steerage  mess,  for  midshipmen,  ensigns, 
and  clerks ;  the  master-at-arm's  mess,  for  yeomen, 
machinists,  boiler-makers,  and  so  on ;  and  three 
or  four  other  messes  besides,  including  that  to 
which  you  will  belong.  We  gunners  dine  with 
the  boatswain,  sail-maker,  and  carpenter." 

The  meal  was  a  plain  one,  of  bread  and  butter, 


THE  MEN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS          99 

coffee,  cold  corned  beef,  and  apple  sauce,  but  it 
was  well  cooked,  and  all  the  new  men  and  boys 
ate  heartily.  As  soon  as  it  was  finished,  Walton 
hurried  off  to  interview  Captain  Cook,  if  he  could 
obtain  that  privilege. 

"Well,  where  are  we  going  to  sleep?  I  don't  see 
any  beds,"  said  one  of  the  boys,  a  timid  lad  named 
Paul  Harbig.  His  query  brought  forth  a  roar. 

"  Your  bed  is  rolled  up  and  lashed  away,  Paul," 
answered  Si,  who  had  rather  taken  to  the  little 
lad.  "  Do  you  see  those  gratings  over  yonder  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  all  the  hammocks  for  this  deck  are 
stowed  away  behind  that.  When  it  comes  time 
to  go  to  bed,  we'll  get  them  out,  fasten  them  up 
to  the  hooks  you  see  about  you,  and  there  you 
are.  And  let  me  tell  you  there  is  nothing  finer 
nor  a  good  canvas  hammock  to  sleep  in.  I'll  take 
it  before  I  take  a  greasy,  dirty  bunk  in  a  buggy 
fo'castle  every  time." 

"  But  a  fellow  may  fall  out,"  suggested  Paul. 

"  If  you're  afraid  of  that,  get  a  rope's-end 
and  tie  yourself  in,"  answered  Si,  philosophically. 
"  But  you  won't  tumble,  unless  we  strike  some 
putty  rough  weather." 


100  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

The  order  was  now  passed  to  bring  along  all 
baggage,  and  Walter  and  Si  picked  up  their 
satchels.  Thinking  to  take  out  several  things  he 
needed,  the  Yankee  youth  opened  his  bag  and  put 
his  hand  inside. 

"  By  ginger  !  "  came  from  him  in  an  undertone, 
but  loud  enough  for  Walter  to  hear. 

"What's  up,  Si?" 

"  Thet  ten-dollar  gold  piece  is  gone  !  " 

"  Are  you  sure  ?  Perhaps  it  has  slipped  among 
some  of  the  clothing." 

"  I'll  soon  see,"  was  the  quick  response,  and  the 
Yankee  youth  dumped  the  articles  out  in  a  heap. 
Sure  enough,  the  golden  eagle  was  gone. 

"  Somebody  has  robbed  me,"  came  in  a  groan. 
u  Now  who  did  it,  do  you  suppose  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  It  might  have  been 
done  here  or  on  the  train,  or  at  the  depot." 

Si  looked  around  him  sharply.  Not  far  away 
stood  Jim  Haskett,  watching  him  intently.  As 
soon  as  the  ex-mate  of  the  Sunflower  saw  that  he 
was  noticed  he  turned  away. 

"I've  got  half  a  notion  Haskett  was  the  one  to 
play  me  foul,"  he  whispered  to  Walter.  "  What 
do  you  think?  " 


THE  MEN  BEHIND  THE  GUNS        101 

"  He  wouldn't  be  much  of  a  man  to  rob  a  mess 
mate  of  ten  dollars." 

"Oil,  you  don't  know  Haskett.  He's  as  close 
as  he  is  brutal.  Once  we  got  up  a  list  to  give 
Captain  Pepperill  a  birthday  present,  but  Haskett, 
although  he  was  first  mate,  only  gave  twenty-five 
cents, — no  more  than  Cooley,  the  cook,  chipped 
in.  In  his  eyes  a  ten-dollar  gold  piece  is  a  big 
lot  of  money." 

"  It  wouldn't  do  you  any  good  to  accuse  him  if 
you  wasn't  pretty  certain  he  was  guilty,"  returned 
Walter,  cautiously.  "  You  don't  want  to  get  into 
trouble  right  after  coming  on  board.  If  you 
raised  a  row,  they  might  put  both  you  and  Haskett 
in  the  brig." 

"  I'm  going  to  ask  him  about  it,  anyway,"  an 
swered  the  Yankee  youth.  "  See,  he  is  looking  at 
us,  and  it  'pears  to  me  as  if  he  was  enjoying 
himself  to  see  me  in  trouble." 

Leaving  his  satchel  and  scattered  clothing  as 
they  were,  Si  advanced  upon  Haskett  and  without 
ceremony  caught  the  man's  shoulder. 

"  Haskett,  I  want  to  ask  you  something,"  he 
said,  in  a  low  tone.  "  Do  you  know  anything 
about  this,  or  don't  you?" 


102  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

"I  don't  know — "  The  ex-mate  of  the  Sun- 
floiuer  stopped  short.  "  What  are  you  talking 
about,  Doring?" 

"  I  left  my  satchel  on  the  train,  as  you  know. 
A  ten-dollar  gold  piece  is  missing.  I  want  to 
know  —  " 

"  What !  do  you  accuse  me  of  taking  it  ? "  de 
manded  the  man,  wrathfully. 

"I  asked  you  if  you  knew  anything  about  it." 

"  No,  I  don't.  I've  got  my  own  affairs  to  look 
after.  More  than  likely  the  car  porter  took  your 
money  —  if  you  really  had  that  amount." 

"Well,  I'm  going  to  find  that  gold  piece  sooner 
or  later,  as  sure  as  my  name  is  Si  Doring,"  ex 
claimed  the  Yankee  youth,  determinedly,  and  with 
a  shake  of  his  head  he  rejoined  Walter  and  Paul 
Harbig. 

The  officer  who  had  previously  taken  them  in 
charge  now  came  forward  and  assigned  them  to 
their  various  sleeping  places.  This  matter  was 
readily  arranged,  for  one  of  the  main  features  of 
the  cruiser  Brooklyn  is  her  commodious  berthing 
quarters,  there  being  two  complete  decks,  running 
from  end  to  end  of  the  ship,  for  this  purpose,  also 
an  extra  forecastle,  so  that  the  vessel  can  accom- 


THE   MEN   BEHIND   THE   GUNS  103 

modate  a  thousand  men  if  required  —  a  number 
nearly  double  that  of  her  usual  crew. 

"  It's  a  big  hotel,  with  one  room  on  a  floor," 
thought  Walter,  as  he  took  the  hammock  assigned 
to  him.  He  was  glad  to  find  Si  on  one  side  of 
him  and  Paul  Harbig  on  the  other.  Si  showed 
both  boys  how  to  take  their  canvasses  and  sling 
them.  This  work  was  just  completed,  when  Caleb 
Walton  came  back  with  a  broad  smile  on  his  face. 

"  It's  all  right,"  he  whispered  to  Walter.  "  The 
captain  treated  me  better  than  I  thought  he  would. 
He  called  up  the  chief  gunner,  and  we  had  a  talk, 
and  you  are  to  take  the  place  of  a  man  named 
Silvers,  who  has  gone  lame  through  having  a  cat- 
block  fall  on  his  foot.  If  you'll  only  mind  your 
self,  and  study  up  as  I  tell  you,  you'll  have  the 
chance  of  your  life." 

"  Study !  I'm  ready  to  begin  right  off,"  answered 
Walter,  earnestly.  "I'm  just  crazy  to  get  at  that 
gun  you  pointed  out  to  me.  Can't  you  show  me 
something  to-night  ?  " 

Caleb  Walton  laughed  outright.  "  Don't  try  to 
learn  it  all  before  you  go  to  bed,  Walter,"  he  said. 
"  Of  course,  you  know  more  than  some  landlubbers 
who  think  that  on  warships  of  to-day  they  handle 


104  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

the  guns  as  they  used  to,  when  one  man  took  the 
powder  and  ball  from  the  powder-monkeys,  an 
other  rammed  them  home  in  the  gun,  and  the 
gunner  sighted  his  piece  and  pulled  the  string. 
Those  days  are  gone,  and  a  head  gunner  like  my 
self  has  very  little  to  do,  even  if  the  position  is  a 
responsible  one.  Come,  I'll  get  permission  to  go 
below,  and  show  you  just  how  a  big  gun  is  served 
from  start  to  finish.  Folks  talk  about  '  the  man 
behind  the  gun '  when  they  really  mean  from  eight 
to  twelve  men." 

The  two  hurried  off,  and  presently  descended  an 
iron  staircase  which  seemed  to  lead  into  the  very 
bowels  of  the  ship.  At  last  they  came  to  a  steel 
trap-door,  barred  and  locked. 

"  Below  this  door  is  one  of  the  magazines,"  ex 
plained  Caleb.  "  It  contains  the  ammunition  for 
the  eight-inch  guns  in  the  turret  above.  The 
keys  to  the  magazine  are  in  the  captain's  cabin, 
and  can  only  be  had  on  special  order  and  by  cer 
tain  persons.  The  magazines  are  kept  locked  con 
tinually,  excepting  when  in  use  or  when  being 
inspected.  All  of  them  are  connected  with  huge 
water  tanks,  so  at  the  first  sign  of  a  fire  they 
can  be  flooded,  thus  lessening  the  danger  of  an 
explosion." 


THE   MEN   BEHIND    THE   GUNS  105 

"  Yes,  I  remember  the  Spaniards  tried  to  prove 
that  the  Maine  blew  up  from  one  of  'her  magazines." 

"  Such  a  thing  couldn't  happen  in  the  American 
navy,  because  the  discipline  is  too  strict.  Now, 
when  a  gun  is  being  served,  several  men  in  the 
magazine  get  out  the  shells  for  the  shellmen,  who 
load  them  on  the  ammunition  hoist  over  there, 
which  is  nothing  more  than  a  warship  dumb 
waiter.  The  hoist  takes  the  shells  up  to  the 
guns,  in  this  case  in  the  forward  turret.  Other 
hoists  supply  the  rear  turret  and  the  secondary 
battery  and  other  guns,  including  the  rapid-firing 
weapons  in  the  military  tops." 

"  You  mean  those  platforms  around  the  upper 
ends  of  the  two  masts?" 

"  Exactly.  The  tops  are  the  places  for  the 
sharpshooters  and  the  range-finders." 

"•  The  range-finders  ?  " 

"  Exactly.  You  see,  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to 
get  an  exact  range  on  an  enemy  several  miles  off, 
and  we  have  to  try  to  get  the  range  in  various 
ways.  One  of  the  simplest  ways  is  to  station  two 
range-finders  in  the  tops,  as  far  away  from  each 
other  as  possible.  Each  man  gets  a  bead  on  the 
enemy  with  his  glasses,  and  then  proceeds  to  get 


106  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

the  angle  between  the  bead  and  an  imaginary  line 
drawn  between  his  station  and  that  taken  by  the 
other  fellow.  The  three  points  —  that  is,  the  two 
range-finders  and  the  enemy — form  a  triangle,  and 
having  one  line  and  the  two  angles  to  work  on, 
the  working  out  of  the  problem  gives  the  distance 
the  gunners  are  hunting  for." 

"  That  makes  pointing  a  gun  nothing  but  a 
mathematical  problem  doesn't  it  ?  " 

"  It  makes  it  partly  a  mathematical  problem,  lad. 
But  having  the  distance  isn't  everything,  for  that 
will  only  give  us  the  height  at  which  a  gun  should 
be  elevated  in  order  to  make  its  charge  cover  that 
distance  and  hit  the  mark,  instead  of  flying  over 
it  or  ploughing  the  water  below  it.  After  getting 
the  distance  we  have  to  calculate  on  how  the 
enemy's  vessel  is  moving,  if  she  is  under  steam, 
and  then,  most  important,  we  have  to  let  the  gun 
go  off  at  just  the  right  motion  of  our  own  craft. 
In  some  navies  they  discharge  the  guns  on  the  up 
ward  roil  of  the  ship,  and  in  others  on  the  down 
ward  roll.  My  private  opinion  on  that  point  is, 
a  downward  roll  in  clear  weather,  and  an  upward 
roll  in  a  choppy  sea,  when  you  don't  know  just 
what  is  coming  next." 


THE   MEN    BEHIND    THE    GUNS  107 

"  I  see.  Firing  a  gun  isn't  so  easy  as  one  would 
imagine." 

"  Easy  enough  if  you  want  to  waste  ammunition, 
as  those  Spaniards  did  at  Manila.  Gun  practice  is 
expensive,  and  Spain  hasn't  any  money  to  waste  in 
that  direction.  Come,  we'll  have  to  get  up  to 
sleeping  quarters  now,"  concluded  the  old  gunner, 
as  a  drum  beat  was  heard  sounding  throughout 
the  warship.  x'  That's  tattoo.  It  will  soon  be  two 
bells,  nine  o'clock,  and  then  comes  pipe  down." 

"  All  right,  I'm  willing  enough  to  go  to  sleep," 
said  Walter.  "  But  just  one  question  more.  How 
do  you  count  the  time  by  bells  on  a  warship  ?  " 

"  Just  the  same  as  on  any  ship,  lad.  The  bell 
strikes  at  each  half -hour,  starting  at  half-past  twelve 
at  night,  which  is  one  bell.  This  makes  one  o'clock, 
two  bells,  half-past  one,  three  bells,  and  so  on,  up 
to  four  o'clock,  which  is  eight  bells,  when  you  start 
again  from  the  beginning.  By  this  means  the  day 
and  night  are  divided  into  periods  of  time  called 
watches,  as  morning  watch,  middle  watch,  dog 
watch,  and  the  like.  You'll  get  the  lay  of  it  soon," 
finished  Walton,  and  then,  having  reached  the  berth 
deck,  the  pair  separated  for  the  night. 


CHAPTER  IX 

COMMODOEE   WINFIELD   SCOTT   SCHLEY 

IN  a  couple  of  days  Walter  began  to  feel  at 
home  on  the  flagship,  and  lie  could  no  longer  be 
termed  a  "greeny,"  strictly  speaking,  although 
there  were  still  a  great  number  of  things  for  him 
to  learn.  He  was  much  interested  in  the  Brooklyn 
as  a  whole  as  well  as  in  detail,  and  was  proud  to 
learn  that  this  armored  cruiser  was  the  largest 
of  the  class  in  our  navy,  having  a  displacement  of 
9215  tons,  as  against  her  sister  ship,  the  New  York, 
which  had  a  displacement  of  about  a  thousand  tons 
less. 

"  This  ship  is  just  four  hundred  feet  and  six 
inches  long,"  said  Caleb.  "  She  don't  look  so  long 
as  she  rides  the  water,  but  as  a  city  block  is  ordi 
narily  two  hundred  feet  deep,  so  to  speak,  she 
would  cover  two  blocks  of  a  side  street,  providing 
the  street  was  sixty-five  feet  wide,  for  her  to  rest 
in.  That's  pretty  big,  eh  ?  " 

108 


COMMODORE   WIXFIELD    SCOTT    SCHLEY         109 

"  And  how  much  water  does  she  draw,  Walton  ?  " 

"  Draws  twenty-four  feet,  which  is  the  height 
of  an  ordinary  two-story  house.  Her  three  smoke 
stacks  are  about  a  hundred  feet  high  each,  and 
that  gives  her  fires  a  first-class  draught,  sailing  or 
standing  still." 

"I'm  awfully  glad  I'm  on  her,"  smiled  Walter. 
"Oh,  I  do  hope  we  have  a  fight  with  the  Dons. 
I  want  to  see  the  big  guns  go  off.  I  know  the 
main  battery,  as  you  call  it,  has  eight  8-inch  guns. 
How  many  guns  are  there  besides  ? " 

"There  are  twelve  5-inch  rapid-fire  guns,  twelve 
6-pounders,  four  1 -pounders,  four  Colts,  and  two 
field  guns.  Besides,  we  carry  four  torpedo  tubes." 

"  We're  a  regular  floating  arsenal !  "  exclaimed 
Walter.  "  It  must  make  things  shake  when  they 
all  get  to  firing." 

"You'll  think  you've  struck  the  infernal  regions, 
lad,  if  we  ever  do  get  them  all  a-going.  Yes,  the 
Brooklyn  is  nothing  but  a  floating  fort.  She's  an 
unusual  type,  because  she  has  an  extra  high  fore 
castle  deck.  Some  folks  don't  think  that  makes  her 
a  beauty,  but  they  must  remember  that  warships 
aren't  built  altogether  for  looks,  although  to  my 
mind  she's  as  handsome  as  any  of  'em.  The  high 


110  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN   WATERS 

bow  enables  us  to  carry  our  forward  guns  eight 
feet  higher  than  those  on  the  New  York,  and  it 
will  come  in  mighty  handy  if  we  ever  want  to  run 
full  steam  after  an  enemy  in  a  heavy  sea  which 
would  drown  out  a  ship  with  a  low  freeboard." 
"  And  why  is  she  called  an  armored  cruiser  ? " 
"  Because  she  is  protected  by  steel  plating  three 
inches  thick  on  her  sides  and  on  her  deck,  and 
under  this  is  an  additional  protection  of  coal  and 
of  cocoa-fibre,  for  keeping  out  water.  It  would 
surprise  you  to  see  how  the  sides  and  deck,  as 
well  as  the  bottom,  are  built,  were  they  taken 
apart  for  examination." 

Discipline  Walter  found  very  strict,  and  once 
he  had  donned  his  uniform  he  was  kept  employed 
from  sunrise  to  sunset,  his  duties  being  largely 
similar  to  those  performed  by  his  brother  Larry 
on  the  Olympia.  Early  in  the  morning  he  was 
aroused  by  the  blare  of  a  bugle,  or  the  roll  of  a 
drum,  and  given  but  a  few  minutes  in  which  to 
dress  and  roll  up  his  hammock  and  put  it  away. 
Then  came  the  work  of  washing  down  the  deck, 
followed  by  breakfast,  and  later  all  hands  were 
called  to  quarters,  to  attend  some  drill,  sometimes 
at  the  guns,  sometimes  at  the  hose  pipes  scattered 


COMMODORE   WINFIELD   SCOTT   SCHLEY        111 

about  in  case  of  fire,  and  occasionally  with  small- 
arms  and  with  cutlasses.  Each  afternoon  there 
was  a  "run  around,"  lasting  from  ten  minutes  to 
half  an  hour.  In  this  the  men  fell  in  singly  or 
in  pairs,  and  ran  around  and  around  the  deck,  at 
first  slowly  until  "  second  wind "  was  gained,  and 
then  faster  and  faster.  This  is  the  one  chance  a 
Jackie  gets  of  stretching  his  legs  while  on  board 
of  his  ship,  and  how  he  does  enjoy  it  ! 

Taking  them  as  a  whole,  Walter  found  the  ship's 
company  a  jolly  crowd,  with  but  few  men  of  the 
Jim  Haskett  stamp  among  them.  The  men  con 
nected  with  the  guns  were  a  particularly  brotherly 
set,  and  the  youth  soon  felt  thoroughly  at  home 
among  them.  He  was  always  willing  to  do  any 
thing  asked  of  him,  and  in  return  the  best  gun 
ners  on  the  vessel  did  not  hesitate  to  give  him 
"  points  "  whenever  he  asked  for  them.  One  jocu 
larly  called  him  The  Questioner,  but  Walter  did 
not  mind,  and  went  on  picking  up  all  the  infor 
mation  possible. 

On  his  second  morning  on  board  Walter  was 
talking  to  Si  when  a  low  roll  of  drums  reached 
their  ears.  "  Hark  !  "  cried  the  Yankee  boy.  "  Two 
ruffles.  Do  you  know  what  that  means  ?  The 


112  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

commodore  is  either  leaving  or  coming  on  board. 
They  always  give  a  high,  officer  that  salute,  or  a 
similar  one." 

"  Let  us  see  him  if  we  can,"  exclaimed  Walter, 
who  had  not  yet  caught  sight  of  the  commander 
of  the  squadron.  They  crowded  to  an  open  port 
and  were  just  in  time  to  see  Commodore  Schley 
descend  by  the  swinging  ladder  to  the  gig.  Soon 
the  little  craft  shot  out  of  sight  through  the  fog, 
for  the  day  was  far  from  clear. 

"  He  looks  like  a  fighter,"  remarked  Walter. 
"  He  has  quite  a  record,  hasn't  he  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  I  was  reading  about  him  only  last 
week.  He  was  in  the  Civil  War,  operating  along 
the  Mississippi,  and  after  that  he  saw  a  lot  of  fight 
ing  besides." 

"  I  know  all  about  our  commodore,"  said  a  gunner 
standing  near.  "  My  father  fought  with  him  on 
the  Mississippi,  and  also  when  Port  Hudson,  in 
Louisiana,  was  taken.  He  is  named  after  General 
Winfield  Scott,  —  Winfield  Scott  Schley,  —  for  his 
father  and  the  general  were  warm  friends." 

"  It's  a  good  name  for  a  fighter  ;  for  certainly 
nobody  fought  better  than  did  General  Scott, 
through  the  war  with  Mexico,"  was  Walter's 
comment. 


COMMODORE   WIXF1ELD    SCOTT   SCHLEY        113 

"  Schley  entered  the  Naval  Academy  in  1856 
and  remained  until  1861,  when  the  war  broke 
out,"  continued  the  gunner.  "  They  say  he  grad 
uated  at  the  head  of  his  class  and  was  so  well 
liked  that  he  was  given  sea-duty  on  the  frigate 
Potomac,  and  in  1862  he  was  made  a  master,  and 
ordered  on  the  Winona,  of  the  Gulf  Squadron. 

"  After  the  Civil  War  was  over,  he  was  sent  to 
the  Pacific,  and  there  he  aided  in  the  suppression 
of  an  outbreak  among  the  Chinese  coolies  in  the 
Chin  Chi  Islands.  The  United  States  consulate 
at  this  place  was  in  danger  df  being  mobbed, 
but  Schley  took  a  hundred  marines  ashore,  and 
knocked  the  whole  uprising  in  the  head  in  short 
order." 

"  No  wonder  he's  a  commodore,"  said  Walter  ; 
and  Si  nodded  approvingly. 

"  It  wasn't  long  before  the  young  officer  was 
made  a  lieutenant-commander,  and  coming  back 
from  the  Pacific,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  de 
partment  at  the  Naval  Academy.  He  remained 
ashore  for  three  years,  then  went  to  the  coast  of 
Africa,  on  the  Benicia,  where  he  took  part  in  a 
number  of  contests,  and  helped  clear  the  Congo 
River  of  pirates,  and  overthrew  the  forces  defend- 


114  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

ing  the  Salu  River  in  Corea,  another  bit  of  work 
for  which  he  was  warmly  praised." 

"  Oh,  he's  a  corker,"  cried  Si,  enthusiastically. 

"  I'm  not  done  yet,"  went  on  the  gunner,  who 
loved  to  talk  about  the  exploits  of  his  old  com 
mander.  "  Of  course  you  have  heard  how  the 
Greely  Expedition  to  the  North  Pole  got  lost  and 
couldn't  get  back  home.  Well,  it  was  Schley  who 
went  after  them,  and  found  Greely  and  six  of  his 
companions  at  Cape  Sabine  and  brought  them  safely 
back.  For  this  Congress  voted  him  a  medal,  and 
President  Arthur  raised  him  to  the  full  rank  of 
captain  and  made  him  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Equip 
ment,  a  very  important  office  in  the  Naval  Depart 
ment.  But  Schley  couldn't  stand  it  on  land,  he 
must  have  the  rolling  ocean  under  him,  and  so  he 
gave  up  his  berth  ashore  and  took  command  of  the 
Baltimore.'1'' 

"  I  remember  about  that,"  put  in  Walter.  "  I 
was  reading  about  John  Ericsson,  the  inventor  of 
the  monitor.  When  Ericsson  died,  the  body  was 
sent  to  Sweden,  his  fatherland,  on  the  Baltimore 
under  Schley." 

"  Exactly,  and  the  King  of  Sweden  gave  Schley 
a  medal  to  commemorate  the  event,  at  a  grand  gath- 


COMMODORE   AVINFIELD    SCOTT    SCHLEY        115 

ering  at  Stockholm.  From  Sweden  Schley  took 
the  Baltimore  to  Southern  waters,  and  while  off 
the  coast  of  Chili  he  smoothed  out  what  threatened 
to  become  a  serious  difficulty  between  that  country 
and  ours  on  account  of  some  of  Uncle  Sam's  jackies 
being  stoned  on  the  streets  of  Valparaiso.  For 
this  the  Navy  Department  was  extremely  grateful, 
and  he  went  up  several  points  on  the  register,  so 
that  it  didn't  take  him  long  to  become  a  commo 
dore." 

"  He's  certainly  a  man  worth  sailing  under,"  said 
Walter,  "  I  suppose  he  is  married  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  has  several  children  —  but  that  don't 
interest  me,"  concluded  the  gunner,  who  was  an  old 
bachelor,  with  a  peculiar  dislike  for  the  gentler  sex. 

Since  the  time  that  Si  had  spoken  to  Haskett 
about  the  missing  money,  the  seaman  had  steered 
clear  of  both  the  Yankee  lad  and  Walter.  Per 
haps  he  was  afraid  that  Si  would  accuse  him  openly 
of  the  theft  of  the  gold  piece,  or  perhaps  he  was 
afraid  of  Caleb  Walton,  who  was  continually 
around  and  ready  to  champion  his  "boys,"  as  he 
had  dubbed  both.  15ut  there  was  one  boy  who 
could  not  get  away  from  him,  and  that  was  Paul 
Harbig. 


116  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

"You're  just  the  right  sort  to  take  to,"  said 
Haskett,  as  he  caught  Paul  by  the  arm  one  morn 
ing,  while  both  were  coming  from  mess.  "  You're 
too  much  of  a  real  little  man  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  that  Russell  boy  or  Si  Doring." 

"  Oh,  I  like  them  both  very  much !"  answered 
Paul,  and  attempted  to  pass  on.  With  a  frown 
Haskett  caught  him  by  the  arm  and  swung  him 
back. 

"  See  here,  I  want  to  talk  to  you,"  he  cried 
uglily.  "  Has  Si  Doring  been  telling  you  any 
yarns  about  me  ?  " 

"  You  let  go  of  me,"  was  Paul's  only  answer. 
"I  don't  want  anything  to  do  with  you." 

"Answer   my  question." 

"  I  haven't  got  to."  And  now  Paul  did  his  best 
to  get  away.  He  had  just  twisted  himself  loose 
when  Jim  Haskett  struck  him  a  cruel  blow  on 
the  head. 

"  You  —  you  brute  !  "  gasped  the  boy,  as  the 
tears  came.  He  was  about  to  try  retreating  again, 
when  Haskett  caught  him  once  more. 

"  Now  answer  me,  or  I'll  thrash  the  life  out  of 
you,"  he  hissed  into  Paul's  ear.  "  And  mind  you 
tell  the  truth." 


HHJJJHBl 


SEE  HERE,   I   WANT  TO  TALK  TO   You." 

Page  i i 6 


COMMODOKE    WIXFIELD   SCOTT   SCHLEY         117 

"  He  said  that  he  had  a  —  a  —  '  the  boy  broke 
off  short.  "  I  won't  tell  you,  there  !  Now  let 
go !  "  And  he  began  to  squirm. 

"  I  know  what  he  said,"  blustered  Haskett. 
"  Said  he  had  had  a  ten-dollar  gold  piece  in 
his  valise,  didn't  he?" 

"  Ye-es." 

"  And  he  accused  me  of  taking  it,  eh  ?  " 

"  He  didn't  say  so  outright.  He  said  you  had 
been  where  you  could  get  at  the  bag." 

"  It  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  I  couldn't  get  at  the  bag  any  more  than  could 
you,  or  Russell,  or  Walton,  or  any  of  the  others." 

"I  suppose  that  is  so.     Now  let  me   go." 

"  I  will  in  a  minute,  but  I  want  to  tell  you 
something,  for  it's  not  nice  to  have  folks  taking 
you  to  be  a  thief,"  went  on  Haskett,  tactfully. 

"I  haven't  said  anything  about  the  affair." 

"  Perhaps  not,  Paul,  but  Boring  talks,  and  I 
reckon  so  do  Russell  and  Walton.  During  the 
past  couple  of  days  I've  found  more  than  one 
fellow  aboard  the  Brooklyn  looking  at  me  queer- 
like,  and  I  can  put  two  and  two  together  as 
quick  as  the  next  man.  If  I  allow  this  to  go  on, 
there  won't  be  a  soul  speak  to  me  after  a  while." 


118  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

"I  shan't  say  a  word — I'll  promise  you." 

"It's  Russell  who  will  talk  the  most,  I  reckon," 
went  on  Haskett,  with  apparent  bitterness.  "  Rus 
sell,  the  very  fellow  who  ought  not  to  say  a 
word." 

"  I'll  caution  him,  if  you  want  me  to,"  went  on 
Paul,  who  was  tender-hearted  and  very  willing  to 
help  anybody  out  of  trouble. 

"  Caution  Russell !  Not  for  the  world.  See 
here,  I'll  tell  you  something,  and  you  can  tell 
Doring  or  not,  just  as  you  please.  To  the  best 
of  my  knowledge  Russell  is  the  thief." 

"  Walter  !  "  ejaculated  Paul.  "  Oh,  no,  you  must 
be  mistaken.  Why,  why  —  how  could  he  get  at 
the  satchel?  He  was  with  Doring." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that.  But  I'm  almost 
positive  Russell  is  guilty." 

"  Have  you  any  proof  ?  You  shouldn't  say  such 
a  thing  unless  you  have,"  retorted  Paul,  anxious 
to  stick  up  for  Walter,  who  had  served  him  sev 
eral  good  turns  since  they  had  become  acquainted. 

"  I've  got  more  proof  against  Russell  than  Dor 
ing  has  against  me,"  answered  Jim  Haskett,  boldly. 
"  And  what  is  more,  I  can  prove  what  I've  got 
to  say." 


COMMODORE    WINFIELD    SCOTT    SCHLEY         119 

"  But  what  have  you  to  say  ?  "  came  in  a  cold, 
heavy  voice  behind  Haskett,  and  turning  swiftly 
the  former  mate  of  the  Sunflower  found  himself 
confronted  by  Caleb  Walton.  The  old  gunner's 
face  looked  stern  and  angry. 

"Why  —  er — where  did  you  come  from?"  stam 
mered  the  seaman. 

"  I  asked  you  what  you  have  to  say  against 
Walter  Russell,"  demanded  Caleb.  "  Come,  out 
with  it,  or  by  the  jumping  beeswax,  I'll  wipe  up 
this  deck  with  you !  "  And  he  doubled  up  his  fists. 

"  I'm  not  afraid,  if  you  want  to  fight,  Walton," 
replied  Haskett,  recovering  somewhat  from  his 
fright,  "What  I  said  about  Russell,  I'll  stick  to." 

"  But  what  have  you  got  to  say  ?  out  with  it," 
was  the  old  gunner's  demand. 

"  I've  got  this  much  to  say.  I  think  Russell 
took  Boring's  gold  piece,  and  I  am  not  the  only 
one  that  does  either.  If  you  think  I'm  wrong,  ask 
Cal  Blinker,  the  shellman.  He  heard  almost  as 
much  as  I  did." 

"  Heard  what  ?  " 

"  Heard  Russell  talk  in  his  sleep.  It  was  last 
night.  I  got  up  to  get  a  drink  of  water  and 
slipped  and  roused  up  Blinker.  Then,  when  I 


120  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    AVATEKS 

went  to  the  water  tub,  I  passed  Russell's  ham 
mock.  He  was  dreaming  and  talking  about  the 
gold  piece  and  saying  that  Doring  would  never 
learn  that  he  had  it,  and  a  lot  more  about  hiding 
it  under  the  gun.  He  went  on  about  the  money 
and  about  hiding  it  for  fully  ten  minutes.  If  you 
don't  believe  me,  go  to  Blinker  about  it." 


CHAPTER   X 

WALTER    SHOWS    HIS    PLUCK 

"  AND  is  that  all  you  have  to  say  ?  "  asked  Caleb 
Walton,  after  a  few  seconds  of  silence,  during 
which  lie  gazed  so  sharply  at  Jim  Haskett  that 
the  fellow  felt  compelled  to  drop  his  eyes.  "  Be 
cause  a  fellow  dreams  about  a  gold  piece,  must  you 
accuse  him  of  stealing  ?  " 

"  That's  all  right,  too,"  responded  Haskett,  dog 
gedly.  "  I  know  he  wouldn't  dream  that  way 
unless  there  was  something  in  the  wind.  I'm  sat 
isfied  he  took  the  money." 

"  And  I  am  satisfied  that  he  is  innocent,"  cried 
Caleb.  "  That  boy  would  never  steal  a  cent  from 
anybody." 

"  Why,  he  was  after  a  thief  himself  before  he 
left  Boston,"  put  in  Paul,  who  had  now  sought 
protection  behind  the  old  gunner. 

"  Well,  suit  yourselves,"  answered  Haskett,  with 
a  shrug  of  his  somewhat  rounded  shoulders.  "  But 
let  me  tell  you  that  I  won't  allow  Russell,  Doring, 

121 


122  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

or  anybody  else  to  speak  of  me  as  having  taken 
the  money — mind  that!"  And  lie  shook  his  fist 
savagely. 

u  Here  comes  Walter  now,"  announced  Paul. 
"  Walter,  come  here  !  "  he  called  out,  before  Caleb 
could  stop  him. 

At  once  Walter  came  up,  an  inquiring  look  upon 
his  manly  face,  which  was  now  becoming  sunburnt 
through  exposure  on  deck.  u  What  do  you  want, 
Paul?"  he  asked. 

"  It's  only  some  of  Haskett's  nonsense,"  answered 
Caleb,  ere  the  boy  could  speak.  "  Tell  us,  lad, 
do  you  remember  dreaming  anything  about  Si's 
gold  piece  ?  " 

For  the  instant  Walter  looked  puzzled,  then  his 
face  brightened.  "  I  do,"  he  answered.  "  What 
of  it?" 

"Tell  us  what  you  dreamed  first." 

"  Why  —  I  —  I  can't  remember  exactly,  except 
ing  that  I  was  having  a  good  lot  of  worry  about 
it,"  he  stammered.  "  You  know  how  dreams  come 
and  go." 

"To  be  sure,  Walter." 

"  You  dreamt  about  the  money  you  hid,  didn't 
you  ?  "  said  Haskett,  sneeringly. 


WALTER    SHOWS    HIS    PLUCK  123 

"The  money  I  hid?     I  hid  no  money." 

"  Oh  no,  of  course  not  !  " 

"  See  here,  Haskett,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  And 
Walter  strode  over  to  the  seaman,  his  face  flush 
ing  deeply.  "  Do  you  mean  to  insinuate  that  I 
took  Si's  gold  piece  and  hid  it  away  ?  " 

"  He  just  does,"  burst  out  Paul.  "  And  he  says 
you  talked  in  your  sleep  about  it,  too." 

"  It  is  false  —  at  least,  it  is  false  that  I  took  the 
money.  I  might  have  dreamed  about  it  and  talked 
in  my  sleep.  We  are  not  accountable  for  what 
we  do  when  we  are  sleeping." 

"  Perhaps  you  took  the  gold  piece  when  you 
were  asleep,"  said  Haskett,  squinting  suggestively 
at  those  surrounding  him. 

"  The  gold  piece  was  taken  while  Si  and  I  were 
left  behind  in  Washington.  It  was  taken  by  some 
body  on  the  train." 

"  That's  your  story  —  and  you've  been  trying  to 
lay  the  thing  at  my  door.  But  I  shan't  stand  it- 
not  me,"  stormed  Haskett.  u  I  heard  what  you 
said  in  your  sleep,  and  so  did  Cal  Blinker.  If 
anybody  is  guilty,  it  is  you  !  "  And  he  pointed  his 
long,  bony  finger  full  in  Walter's  face. 

By  this  time  a  crowd  of   a  dozen  or  more  had 


124  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

gathered  round,  realizing  that  a  quarrel  of  some 
sort  was  in  progress.  "It's  about  a  gold  piece," 
said  one.  "  Haskett  says  Russell  took  it.  Say, 
fellows,  we  don't  want  anything  to  do  with  a 
thief." 

"  Not  much  we  don't  !  "  answered  a  messmate. 
"Heave  him  overboard  if  he  is  guilty." 

"  This  matter  ought  to  be  reported  to  the  officer 
of  the  deck,"  put  in  a  third.  "  If  there  is  a  thief 
on  board,  no  man's  ditty-box  will  be  safe." 

At  Haskett's  concluding  remark  Walter's  face 
grew  as  red  as  a  beet,  then  deadly  pale.  For  a 
moment  he  stood  stock  still,  breathing  heavily. 
Suddenly  he  leaped  forward  with  clenched  fist 
and  struck  Haskett  a  stunning  blow  on  the  chin 
which  sent  the  seaman  staggering  up  against  a 
gun-carriage. 

"  That,  for  talking  to  me  in  this  fashion  !  "  he 
exclaimed. 

"  Oh  !  "  grunted  the  ex-mate  of  the  /Sunflower, 
as  he  caught  at  the  gun  just  in  time  to  prevent 
himself  from  falling  to  the  deck.  "  You  —  you 
young  rascal,  what  do  you  mean  by  hitting  me  ?  " 

"  A  fight !  a  fight  !  "  cried  several,  and  soon  a 
crowd  of  about  fifty  jackies  surrounded  the  pair. 


WALTER   SHOWS   HIS   PLUCK  125 

"  Wasn't  that  a  pretty  blow  though  !  And  he's 
only  a  boy,  too  !  "  came  from  a  gunner's  mate. 

"  I'll  fix  you  for  this  !  "  went  on  Haskett,  put 
ting  one  hand  to  his  chin,  where  a  lump  was  rising 
rapidly.  "  I  never  before  allowed  anybody  to  hit 
me  —  leastwise  a  boy."  And  he  rushed  at  Walter 
with  a  fierceness  which  boded  the  youth  no  good. 

"  Don't  you  hit  him,  Haskett,"  put  in  Caleb, 
catching  the  seaman  by  the  arm.  "  If  you  do, 
you'll  have  to  settle  this  affair  with  me." 

"He  hit  me." 

"And  you  as  much  as  said  he  was  a  thief." 

"And  so  he  is." 

"  I  am  not,  and  I've  a  good  mind  to  hit  you 
again  for  saying  so,"  burst  out  Walter,  and  before 
anybody  around  could  separate  them  he  and  Has 
kett  had  closed  in.  Several  ineffective  blows  were 
struck  on  each  side,  when  they  were  pulled  apart. 

"This  won't  do,  Walter,"  whispered  Caleb.  "If 
you're  not  careful,  you'll  spend  a  week  in  the  brig." 

"  But  —  but  it's  awful  to  have  him  say  I'm  a  — 
a  —  " 

"  I  know,  I  know.  But  keep  cool,  lad ;  it's  best, 
take  my  word  for  it.  You've  been  on  board  only 
a  few  days,  but  you  have  made  lots  of  friends, 


126  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

while  I  reckon  most  of  the  men  have  already  sized 
up  Haskett  for  the  meanest  chap  on  board." 

"He  has  no  right  to  talk  about  me." 

"He  says  you  and  Si  Doring  talked  about  him." 

Haskett  now  pushed  his  way  forward  again.  "I 
don't  want  trouble  with  the  officers,  so  we'll  let 
this  matter  drop  for  the  present,"  he  blustered. 
"  But  I'll  remember  you,  and  some  day  you'll  be 
mighty  sorry  we  had  this  little  mix-up."  And  mut 
tering  some  more  that  nobody  could  understand 
he  strode  off,  the  majority  of  the  crowd  gazing 
after  him  curiously. 

"  Ran  away  from  a  boy  ! "  said  one  old  tar. 
"  He  must  be  a  regular  coward,  and  no  mistake  ! " 

Many  wanted  Walter  to  relate  his  version  of 
what  had  brought  the  encounter  about,  but  Caleb 
hurried  the  lad  away  to  a  corner,  where  he  took  a 
wash  up  and  brushed  off  his  clothing. 

"  I  want  to  interview  that  Cal  Blinker,"  said  the 
youth.  "  Where  can  I  find  him  ?  " 

"  Down  around  the  forward  ammunition  hoist," 
answered  Paul  ,  and  Walter  hurried  off,  accom 
panied  by  his  friends. 

"  Yes,  I  did  hear  you  say  something  about  a 
gold  piece,"  the  shellman  admitted.  "  You  didn't 


WALTER    SHOWS    HIS    PLUCK  12? 

talk  very  plainly  and  I  understood  very  little. 
Huskett  said  he  understood  every  word.  Well, 
maybe  lie  did.  I've  been  in  the  navy  so  long  that 
the  noise  of  the  big  guns  has  affected  my  hearing." 

"  Did  I  say  I  stole  the  piece  ?  "  insisted  Walter. 

"  I  don't  know  as  you  did.  All  I  could  make 
oat  was  'ten  dollars  in  gold'  and  'the  gun  —  just 
the  place.' ' 

This  was  all  Cal  Blinker  had  to  say.  He  was 
rather  old  and  it  was  plain  to  see  that  he  wanted 
nothing  to  do  with  the  controversy,  one  side  or 
the  other. 

Si  Doring  had  been  attending  a  special  boat 
drill,  and  it  was  not  until  an  hour  had  passed  that 
he  came  below  and  heard  what  had  occurred. 
Without  hesitation  he  slapped  Walter  on  the 
shoulder. 

"Don't  you  take  this  to  heart,"  he  said.  "No 
matter  what  that  mean  old  rascal  of  a  Haskett 
says,  he'll  never  make  me  believe  that  you  are  any 
thing  but  perfectly  straight.  I  believe  yet  that 
he  took  the  gold  piece  and  that  some  day  I'll  be 
able  to  prove  it."  And  there  the  incident,  for  the 
time  being,  dropped. 

The  manner  in   which  Walter   had  "  sailed  into 


128  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

Haskett,"  as  Caleb  expressed  it,  made  the  youth 
many  friends  among  the  crew,  for  if  there  is  one 
thing  a  jack  tar  loves  it  is  to  see  a  messmate  stand 
up  for  himself.  "  You're  all  right,  you  are,"  said 
more  than  one,  and  caught  Walter's  hand  in  a 
grip  calculated  to  break  the  bones.  Several,  who 
had  thought  to  play  a  few  tricks  on  the  "  greeny," 
reconsidered  their  ideas  on  the  subject  and  con 
cluded  that  it  was  best  not  to  run  any  chances 
with  such  a  spirited  lad. 

For  some  time  Walter  was  afraid  that  the  ex 
ecutive  officer  would  hear  of  the  encounter  and 
bring  him  to  book  for  it  ;  but  if  the  "  mix-up " 
was  reported,  nothing  came  of  it.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  Uncle  Sam's  officers  just  then  had  affairs  of 
more  importance  requiring  their  attention. 

For  every  hour  on  board  of  the  warships  com 
posing  the  Flying  Squadron  increased  the  anxiety 
concerning  the  Spanish  ships  which  it  was  felt 
were  preparing  -to  make  a  quick  dash  for  Cuba  or 
for  our  own  coast.  How  soon  would  these  warships 
sail,  and  where  would  they  make  their  presence 
felt  ?  those  wrere  the  all-important  questions  com 
modore  and  captains  asked  of  each  other.  "  They'll 
most  likely  try  to  break  the  blockade  at  Havana," 


WALTER    SHOWS    HIS    PLUCK  129 

said  one.  "  No,  they'll  bombard  one  of  our  down- 
east  seacoast  cities,"  said  another.  "  I  think  they'll 
rush  through  the  Suez  Canal  to  fight  Dewey,"  was 
the  conclusion  reached  by  a  third.  Under-officers 
and  men  speculated  quite  as  much  as  did  their  su 
periors,  arriving  at  equally  opposite  conclusions. 
"They  have  our  whole  seacoast  and  Cuba  to  pick 
from,"  Commodore  Schley  said.  "  They  will  go 
where  they  can  do  the  most  good  —  to  their  way  of 
thinking.  I  think  they'll  go  to  Cuba  or  Porto  Rico." 
How  correct  the  commander  was  history  has  shown. 
Although  the  Scorpion  was  patrolling  the  ocean 
just  outside  of  the  capes,  a  strict  watch  was  kept 
on  every  one  of  the  warships,  night  and  day. 
Rumors  were  numerous,  and  one  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  Spaniards  had  a  submarine  craft  in  their 
service  and  that  this  boat  would  soon  arrive  along 
our  eastern  seacoast,  to  destroy  the  shipping  from 
Maine  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  these  days,  when 
we  know  the  truth,  we  can  afford  to  laugh  at  such 
a  report,  but  to  the  jackies  on  the  warships,  who 
remembered  only  too  well  the  fate  of  the  Maine,  it 
was  no  laughing  matter.  Even  when  off  duty, 
many  would  go  on  the  spar  deck  and  lie  flat,  gazing 
into  the  dark  waters  for  the  best  part  of  a  night, 


130  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAX    WATERS 

hoping  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  unknown  terror, 
should  it  come  to  that  vicinity. 

Sunday,  with  its  deeply  impressive  church  ser 
vice,  came  and  went,  and  still  the  squadron  lay  at 
anchor.  In  the  meantime  it  was  rumored  that 
Sampson  would  soon  take  his  most  powerful  ves 
sels  from  the  blockade  and  bombard  Havana.  The 
newspapers  reported  this,  but  if  such  was  the  plan 
of  the  Navy  Department,  it  was  altered  at  the  last 
moment. 

Ori  May  12  came  news  of  a  fierce  fight  in  the 
harbor  of  Cardenas,  a  seaport  a  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  east  of  Havana.  In  an  attempt  to 
effect  a  landing,  the  torpedo  boat  Winslow  had  her 
boiler  blown  to  pieces  and  several  men  were  killed 
and  injured,  among  them  Ensign  Worth  Bagley, 
who  was  thus  the  first  American  officer  to  fall  in 
the  war.  Two  other  warships,  the  Wilmington  and 
the  Hudson,  also  took  part  in  the  contest,  but  were 
repulsed  after  a  gallant  onslaught  lasting  over  an 
hour. 

"  This  is  war,"  said  Caleb,  as  he  read  the  news 
from  the  paper  that  one  of  the  gunners  had  just 
brought  on  board.  "  Those  fellows  on  the  Wins- 
low  caught  it  hot.  Think  of  running  right  intq 


WALTER   SHOWS   HIS   PLUCK  131 

that  harbor  and  having  a  shell  drop  and  smash 
your  boiler  and  send  the  live  steam  all  over  you. 
I  tell  you  Ensign  Bagley  was  a  plucky  one,  all 
honor  to  his  memory." 

The  next  day  brought  even  more  important 
news.  Dewey  had  gained  a  foothold  in  the  Phi 
lippines,  the  main  city  of  Cuba  was  in  a  state  of 
blockade,  and  now  Rear- Admiral  Sampson  had 
shifted  the  scene  of  action  to  Porto  Rico,  by 
shelling  the  forts  of  San  Juan,  the  principal  city 
of  Spain's  only  other  possession  in  the  West 
Indies. 

"  We're  getting  there  !  "  cried  Caleb,  excitedly. 
"  We'll  soon  give  the  Dons  all  they  want." 

"If  Sampson  succeeds  in  making  the  San  Juan 
forts  surrender,  the  whole  city  will  be  at  our  mercy," 
said  Walter.  "  Hurrah  for  the  American  navy, 
and  every  ship  and  man  in  it." 

"  We  are  bound  to  get  them  on  the  run,"  put  in 
Si.  "  Here  is  another  report  about  a  fight  at  Cien- 
fuegos.  Where  is  that  ?  " 

"  On  the  southern  coast  of  Cuba,"  answered 
Walter,  who  had  always  had  a  good  head  for  geog 
raphy,  and  who,  since  the  war  had  started,  had 
studied  the  map  of  Cuba  closely.  "  Havana,  San 


132  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

Juan,  and  Manila!  Say,  but  this  is  becoming  a  war 
of  magnificent  distances." 

"  It's  a  naval  war,  that's  what  it  is,"  said  Caleb. 
"  If  we  —  hullo  !  Did  any  of  you  see  this  tele 
gram  ? "  He  pointed  to  his  newspaper.  "  The 
Spanish  Squadron  under  Admiral  Cervera  has 
slipped  away  from  Cape  Verde  Islands  and  is  un 
doubtedly  bound  westward." 

"  And  here  is  another  report  that  some  strange 
vessels,  supposed  to  be  warships,  have  been  sighted 
off  Martinique,  Windward  Island,"  added  Walter, 
quickly.  "I'll  wager  we  leave  soon!  " 

"  But  where  to  —  the  Windward  Islands  ?  "  que 
ried  Si. 

"That's  for  Commodore  Schley  to  decide.  Rest 
assured  he'll  find  this  Admiral  Cervera  sooner  or 
later,  just  as  Dewey  found  old  Admiral  Montojo." 

The  news  was  spreading,  and  officers  and  men 
gathered  in  knots  to  discuss  the  situation.  As  for 
Commodore  Schley  and  Captain  Cook,  they  smiled 
knowingly,  but  said  nothing.  Everybody  in  the 
Flying  Squadron  remembered  what  Dewey  and  his 
men  had  accomplished,  and  all  were  on  their  mettle 
accordingly. 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE   SAILING    OF    THE   FLYING    SQUADRON 

"  WE  are  off  at  last  !  " 

It  was  Walter  who  broke  the  news,  as  he  came 
tumbling  down  the  stairs  to  the  berth  deck,  where 
Si  and  Caleb  were  engaged  in  a  friendly  game  of 
checkers  on  the  top  of  a  ditty-box. 

"  Off!  "  cried  the  old  gunner,  and  leaped  up,  scat 
tering  the  men  on  the  checkerboard  in  all  directions. 
"  Who  told  you  ?  " 

"  The  signal  has  just  been  hoisted  on  the  military 
mast.  I  couldn't  read  it,  but  Sandram  could  and 
lie  translated  it  for  me." 

Caleb  waited  to  hear  no  more,  but  rushed  on  deck, 
with  Walter  and  the  others  following.  The  news 
was  true,  the  signal  flew  the  words,  "  Weigh  anchor 
and  follow  the  flagship,"  and  the  heavy  black  smoke 
was  pouring  in  dense  volumes  from  every  warship's 
funnels. 

"  I  wonder  where  we  are  bound  ? "  questioned 
133 


134  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

Walter,  whose  heart  was  thumping  within  him  at 
the  thought  war  might  soon  become  a  stern  reality 
to  him.  "  Of  course  we  are  going  after  Admiral 
Cervera's  ships." 

"  I  reckon  that's  right,  but  there's  no  telling," 
responded  Caleb.  "  The  officers  don't  consult  us 
when  they  want  to  move,  you  know."  And  he  said 
this  so  dryly  that  both  Walter  and  Si  had  to  laugh. 

The  warships  at  hand  were  four  in  number,  —  the 
Brooklyn,  which  I  have  already  described,  and  the 
Massachusetts,  Texas,  and  Scorpion.  With  them  was 
the  collier  Sterling,  loaded  to  the  very  rail  with 
huge  bags  of  coal,  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
Flying  Squadron. 

The  Massachusetts  was  a  battleship  of  the  first- 
class,  a  sister  ship  to  the  Indiana.  She  had  a  dis 
placement  of  over  ten  thousand  tons,  and  a  speed  of 
sixteen  knots  per  hour.  Her  massive  armor  was 
eighteen  inches  thick  —  enough  to  withstand  some 
of  the  heaviest  shots  ever  fired  from  any  gun.  Her 
armament  consisted  of  a  main  battery  of  four 
13-inch  and  eight  8-inch  guns  and  four  6-inch  slow- 
fire  guns.  The  secondary  battery  comprised  twenty 
6-pounders,  four  1-pounders,  four  Gatlings,  and  two 
field-guns.  Besides  this  she  carried  three  torpedo 


THE   SAILING    OF   THE   FLYING    SQUADRON      135 

tubes  and  an  immense  quantity  of  small-arms. 
Captain  Francis  J.  Higginson  was  in  charge,  with 
Lieutenant-Commander  Seaton  Schroeder. 

The  Texas  was  a  battleship  of  the  second  class, 
her  displacement  being  only  6315  tons.  She  had 
the  honor  to  be  the  first  vessel  built  when  our  navy 
began  its  reconstruction,  in  1886.  Her  armor  was 
just  one  foot  thick,  and  she  could  speed  along  at  the 
rate  of  nearly  eighteen  knots  an  hour.  Two  12-inch 
and  six  6-inch  slow-fire  guns  made  up  her  main  bat 
tery,  while  her  secondary  battery  counted  up  six 
1-pounders,  four  Hotchkiss  and  two  Gatling  guns. 
There  were  two  torpedo  tubes.  The  Texas  was 
under  the  command  of  Captain  John  W.  Philip  and 
Lieutenant-Commander  Giles  B.  Harber. 

The  Scorpion  was  a  despatch  boat  of  the  gunboat 
pattern,  with  a  displacement  of  six  hundred  tons, 
and  a  rapid-firing  battery  of  four  5-inch  and  six 
6-pounders.  She  was  a  swift  craft,  and  had  done 
duty  as  a  scout  for  a  long  time. 

The  signal  to  weigh  anchor  was  hoisted  on  the 
flagship  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  in 
side  of  half  an  hour  the  Flying  Squadron  and  the 
collier  were  standing  down  Hampton  Roads  toward 
the  capes,  each  ploughing  the  waters  at  a  twelve  to 


136  FIGHTING    IX   CUBAN   WATERS 

fifteen  knot  rate.  The  wharves  alongshore  were 
lined  with  people,  who  waved  their  hats  and  their 
handkerchiefs,  and  shouted  out  their  best  wishes 
for  the  departing  ones. 

"  Remember  the  Maine,  boys,  and  send  us  a  good 
account  of  yourselves  !  "  shouted  one  old  Southern 
veteran,  as  he  shook  a  partly  empty  coat  sleeve  at 
them.  "  I  wish  I  was  younger ;  I'd  go  along  and 
fight  as  well  for  the  old  stars  and  stripes  as  I 
once  did  for  the  stars  and  bars." 

"  Now  you're  talking,"  responded  a  Union  vet 
eran.  "  That  other  quarrel  was  our  own,  eh,  neigh 
bor  ?  Let  foreign  nations  keep  their  hands  off 
Uncle  Sam's  family  and  the  children  seeking  his 
protection.  Three  cheers  for  Old  Glory  and  Free 
Cuba !  "  And  the  cheers  were  given  with  a  will, 
while  Fortress  Monroe  thundered  out  a  parting- 
salute. 

A  number  of  other  vessels,  including  the  pro 
tected  cruisers  Minneapolis  and  New  Orleans  and 
the  auxiliary  cruiser  St.  Paul  had  been  left  be 
hind,  to  join  their  sister  ships  later  on.  The  New 
Orleans  was  a  warship  but  recently  purchased  from 
the  Brazilian  government,  and  formerly  known  as 
the  Amazonas.  The  St.  Paul  had  formerly  been  a 


THE   SAILING   OF   THE   FLYING   SQUADRON      137 

trans-Atlantic  steamer,  and  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Charles  E.  Sigsbee,  who  had  so  gallantly 
stuck  to  his  post  until  the  last  moment  when  the 
Maine  was  destroyed. 

Each  of  the  warships  had  a  harbor  pilot  on  board 
and  proceeded  under  a  full  head  of  steam  for  the 
passage  between  the  capes,  which  were  passed  a 
little  after  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Leaving 
Cape  Henry  well  to  starboard,  the  pilots  were 
dropped,  and  the  warships,  taking  the  middle 
course,  as  it  is  termed,  disappeared  from  the  gaze 
of  those  who  had  watched  their  departure  so 
eagerly. 

"  We're  out  for  a  fight  now,  sure  enough,"  said 
Caleb,  as  he  and  Walter  went  below,  each  to  the 
mess  to  which  he  had  been  assigned.  "  Orders 
are  to  prepare  for  action,  so  I've  just  been  told." 

u  I  noticed  that  lights  were  being  extinguished," 
answered  the  youth.  "  Do  you  suppose  they  are 
afraid  that  the  Spanish  warships  are  coming  up 
this  way  ?  " 

"No  telling,  lad.  It's  a  game  of  hide  and  seek, 
until  one  fellow  or  the  other  sneaks  up  and  thumps 
his  opponent  in  the  neck.  I  only  hope  we're  in  it 
to  do  the  first  thumping." 


138  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

Mess  was  scarcely  over  when  there  came  a  call 
to  quarters.  Ports  were  closed  with  massive  steel 
covers,  the  battle  hatches  were  put  down,  and  the 
big  guns  were  carefully  loaded.  Watches  had,  of 
course,  already  been  established,  and  now  the  men 
were  ordered  to  take  turns  at  standing  by  the 
guns. 

"  Which  Avay  are  we  pointing,  eastward  or  down 
the  coast  ?  "  questioned  Walter  of  Si,  who  had  come 
up  during  his  off  hours  to  take  a  look  at  the  cloudy 
sky  from  which  only  a  few  stars  were  peeping. 

"We  are  moving  almost  directly  southward," 
was  the  slow  reply  of  the  Yankee  youth,  after  a 
long  look  overhead. 

"  And  where  will  that  bring  us  to,  Si  ? " 

"  It  will  take  us  to  Cape  Hatteras  first,  and  if  we 
keep  on  long  enough  it  will  bring  us  to  the  neigh 
borhood  of  San  Salvador  Island.  But  I  reckon 
we'll  change  our  course  after  Hatteras  is  passed." 

"  Isn't  Hatteras  a  bad  point  to  pass  ?  " 

"  Is  it  ?  You  just  ought  to  try  it  in  dirty 
weather.  Many  a  craft  has  left  her  hulk  off 
that  cape.  But  such  a  craft  as  the  Brooklyn,  with 
her  high  bow,  ought  to  weather  almost  anything. 
To  my  mind,  the  worst  thing  we  can  run  into  is  a 


THE   SAILING    OF    THE   FLYING    SQUADRON      139 

fog-bank,  and  that's  just  what  we  are  likely  to  do 
in  this  vicinity." 

The  regular  lights  of  the  warship  had  been  ex 
tinguished,  but  behind  its  hood  the  great  search 
light  glowed  and  spluttered,  ready  to  be  turned  to 
one  point  or  another  at  a  second's  notice.  All  was 
quiet  on  board,  save  for  the  rumble  and  quiver  of 
the  powerful  engines  which  were  driving  this  float 
ing  fort  on  her  way  through  the  rolling  ocean. 
While  daylight  lasted  the  vessels  kept  more  or 
less  apart,  but  with  the  coming  of  night  they 
closed  in,  and  the  fretting  and  puffing  little  Scor 
pion  darted  ahead  on  picket  guard. 

Walter's  duty  at  his  gun  came  to  an  end  at 
midnight,  and  none  too  soon  for  the  lad,  whose 
head  had  suddenly  begun  to  spin  around  like  a 
top.  "  I  guess  I'm  getting  seasick,"  he  murmured 
to  Si ;  and  the  Yankee  lad  at  once  led  him  away 
to  a  secluded  corner,  where  he  might  have  mat 
ters  all  his  own  way,  and  where  none  might  look 
on  and  enjoy  his  misery.  Once  Haskett  started  to 
pass  some  uncomplimentary  remarks  about  Walter, 
but  a  single  stern  look  from  Caleb  silenced  the 
seaman,  who  tumbled  into  his  hammock  without 
another  word.  For  several  days  Jim  Haskett  had 


140  FIGHTING    IX   CUBAN    WATERS 

kept  his  distance,  but  he  was  only  biding  his  time 
to  "  even  up,"  as  he  termed  it.  "  I'll  make  young 
Russell  feel  mighty  sore  before  I'm  done  with  him," 
was  what  he  promised  himself. 

Walter  was  expected  to  go  on  duty  again  at 
four  o'clock,  but  he  was  in  no  condition  for  ser 
vice,  and  sent  Caleb  word  to  that  effect.  Paul 
took  the  message  and  soon  returned  with  a  reply. 

"You're  to  take  it  easy  until  you're  all  right," 
said  Paul.  "  Walton  will  fix  it  up  so  there  will 
be  no  trouble." 

"  He's  the  best  friend  a  fellow  ever  fell  in  with," 
sighed  Walter.  "  If  I  hadn't  met  him  I  don't  know 
what  I  should  have  done." 

"  Oh,  you  would  have  taken  care  of  yourself," 
answered  Paul,  lightly.  He  had  not  yet  forgotten 
the  attack  Haskett  had  sustained  at  Walter's  hands. 

Daybreak  found  the  squadron  running  into  the 
first  of  a  series  of  fog-banks.  At  once  the  speed 
of  each  warship  was  reduced,  and  presently  it  be 
came  necessary  to  use  the  fog-horns  and  ship-bells. 
In  the  meantime  all  hands  were  put  through  several 
drills,  "to  get  them  into  fighting  trim,"  as  the  offi 
cer  of  the  deck  explained.  The  drills  lasted  until 
dinner  time,  and  in  some  way  they  made  Walter 


THE   SAILING   OF   THE   PLYING   SQUADEON      141 

feel  much  better.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  his  spell  of 
seasickness  was  of  short  duration,  and  once  gone, 
the  malady  never  returned. 

"  I'm  a  fine  specimen  of  a  Jackie,  am  I  not  ? " 
he  said  to  Caleb,  with  a  faint  smile,  on  first  pre 
senting  himself.  "  Why,  a  Spaniard  could  knock 
me  over  with  a  feather." 

"  Don't  you  go  for  to  find  fault  with  yourself," 
was  the  old  gunner's  reply.  "  I've  known  men 
who  have  been  on  the  ocean  for  years  to  get  sick 
the  first  day  out.  It's  something  they  can't  over 
come,  try  their  best.  Why,  I  saw  several  officers 
of  the  marines  as  sick  as  so  many  dogs." 

Mess  over,  Walter  went  on  deck  for  a  breath 
of  fresh  air.  They  had  just  left  a  fog-bank  and 
were  standing  out  boldly  into  the  ocean.  The 
youth  sauntered  slowly  forward  as  far  as  the 
rules  permitted. 

"  Sail  O  !  "  came  suddenly  from  the  military 
mast. 

"  Where  away  ? "  demanded  the  officer  on  the 
bridge. 

"Dead  ahead,  sir." 

"  Is  she  flying  any  flag  ?  " 

"I  think  not,  sir." 


142  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN   WATERS 

"What  does  she  look  like?" 

"  I  can't  make  out  very  well,  for  she  is  running 
into  the  fog.  I  don't  know  but  that  she  looks  a 
bit  like  a  warship,"  continued  the  lookout,  after 
some  hesitation. 

Without  delay  Commodore  Schley  and  Captain 
Cook  were  notified.  A  brief  consultation  took 
place,  and  it  was  decided  to  pursue  the  unknown 
craft  and  find  out  what  she  was  and  where  she 
was  going. 


CHAPTER  XII 

AN  ADVENTURE  OFF  CHARLESTON 

THE  news  that  a  strange  vessel  was  in  sight 
soon  travelled  throughout  the  ship,  and  all  who 
could  do  so,  crowded  to  the  spar  deck,  while  the 
officers  stationed  themselves  on  the  forecastle, 
bridge  and  other  points  of  vantage. 

There  was  no  necessity  to  give  the  order, 
"  Clear  ship  for  action  !  "  for  the  Brooklyn  was 
already  cleared.  Moreover,  all  the  big  guns  con 
tained  their  charges  of  eight-inch  and  other 
shells.  The  six-pounders  and  the  Colts  were  now 
"  provided,"  as  it  is  termed,  and  then  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  lie  by  the  guns  and  await 
further  orders. 

Immediately  upon  notification  that  a  strange 
sail  was  in  sight,  the  flagship  had  run  up  a  sig 
nal  to  the  Scorpion,  "  Follow  the  unknown  ship 
to  the  southward,"  and  away  darted  the  little 
gunboat  at  a  rate  of  speed  which  caused  the 

143 


144  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

mighty  waves  of  the  Atlantic  to  wash  her  decks 
from  end  to  end.  Presently  the  sea  proved 
almost  too  heavy  for  her  and  she  had  to  reduce 
her  speed,  and  the  Brooklyn  went  ahead,  her 
high  freeboard  sending  the  water  to  port  and 
starboard  with  scarcely  an  effort.  Once,  however, 
she  did  get  caught  below  an  unusually  high  crest 
and  all  on  the  forward  deck  received  a  liberal 
drenching. 

"  Fire  a  shot  across  her  bow !  "  was  the  order 
given,  when  the  strange  craft  again  emerged  from 
a  fog-bank,  and  boom !  one  of  the  smaller  guns 
belched  forth.  The  echoes  of  the  shot  had 
scarcely  died  away  when  the  unknown  ship  was 
seen  to  hoist  the  British  flag. 

"  Only  a  Britisher !  "  sighed  Caleb,  when  the 
news  came  down  to  him.  "  And  I  thought  we  were 
going  to  have  the  profit  of  a  nice  Spanish  prize." 

Not  caring,  to  go  entirely  by  the  flag  displayed, 
since  the  unknown  ship  had  acted  so  strangely, 
the  Scorpion  was  again  sent  forward  to  make  an 
investigation.  In  quarter  of  an  hour  she  came 
up  within  hailing  distance. 

"What  ship  is  that?"  was  bawled  out  through 
a  megaphone. 


AN  ADVENTURE  OFF  CHARLESTON      145 

"  British  steamer  Elsie.  What  gunboat  is 
that ?  " 

"  The  Scorpion,  of  the  United  States  navy. 
Where  are  you  bound  and  what  have  you  on 
board?" 

"  Bound  for  Norfolk,  Virginia,  with  a  cargo  •  of 
phosphate  rock." 

"  Why  didn't  you  show  your  flag  before  ?  " 

"  Well,  to  tell  the  truth  we  were  afraid  we  had 
run  into  some  Spanish  warships,  and  that  Eng 
land  might  be  mixed  up  in  this  muss,  in  which 
case  we  didn't  want  to  become  a  Spanish  prize. 
How  is  it?  are  we  in  it  yet?" 

"  No,  Uncle  Sam  is  running  this  war  without 
outside  help,"  was  the  concluding  remark,  and 
then  the  two  vessels  separated ;  and  the  Flying 
Squadron  proceeded  on  its  way. 

Saturday  found  the  course  of  the  Brooklyn 
changed  to  southwest  by  south.  "  We  are  still 
hugging  the  coast,"  explained  Si.  "I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  we  are  to  make  a  stop  somewhere,  say 
at  Charleston  or  Savannah." 

"  Perhaps  the  commodore  has  word  that  the 
Spanish  ships  are  sailing  for  our  southeast  coast," 
suggested  Walter.  "  My  !  what  a  nasty  day  it  is 


146  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

going  to  be."  He  referred  to  the  mist,  which  was 
so  heavy  that  it  felt  almost  like  rain.  For  May, 
the  weather  was  raw  and  cold,  and  all  hands  were 
glad  to  stay  below  decks  as  much  as  possible. 

On  this  day  another  long  exercise  at  the  gun 
was  had,  and  Walter  learned  more  thoroughly 
than  ever  how  the  charge  was  raised  from  the 
ammunition  hoists  to  the  gun,  pushed  into  place 
by  the  mechanical  rammer,  and  how  the  gun  was 
moved  up,  down,  or  sideways  by  merely  touching 
this  button  or  that  wheel  or  lever.  "  It's  won 
derful  !"  he  observed.  "I  suppose  it  would  be 
next  to  impossible  to  move  such  a  big  gun  by 
hand." 

"  Oh,  it  can  be  done,"  answered  Caleb.  "  In 
the  old  navy  they  used  to  do  it  by  hand,  and 
each  gun  had  ten  to  sixteen  men  to  man  it.  In 
those  days  they  had  no  device  to  lessen  the  shock 
of  the  recoil  as  we  have  now.  Instead  of  hav 
ing  a  water  cushion  for  the  gun  to  strike  on,  they 
used  a  heavy  rope  in  the  back,  and  sometimes  the 
rope  broke,  and.  the  gun  did  more  damage  flying 
backward  than  the  charge  did  flying  forward." 

"They  didn't  have  any  breech-loaders  in  those 
days,  did  they  ?  " 


AN   ADVENTURE    OFF   CHARLESTON  147 

"They  had  some  in  the  Civil  War,  but  not 
many  before  that.  Everything  in  the  way  of 
powder  and  ball  had  to  be  put  into  the  muzzle, 
and  was  rammed  home  by  hand.  The  first  breech- 
loading  guns  were  clumsy  affairs,  and  not  a  few 
accidents  were  had  by  guns  going  off  before  the 
breeches  were  properly  locked." 

"  And  what  about  sighting  the  pieces  ?  " 

"  Oh,  they  have  had  dozens  of  devices  for  get 
ting  a  correct  aim,  some  pretty  good  and  some 
decidedly  bad.  In  the  old  navy  the  guns  didn't 
carry  near  so  far  as  they  do  now,  and  your  old- 
time  gunner  was  just  what  his  name  calls  for, 
for  he  sighted  the  piece  and  fired  it  himself.  But 
the  old  times  are  gone,  and  I  expect  one  of  these 
days  all  the  work  still  left  will  be  done  by  ma 
chinery,  and  a  dozen  men  sitting  up  in  the  con 
ning  tower  will  control  the  warship  from  stem  to 
stern." 

Walter  laughed  at  this.  "  I  reckon  we're  some 
time  off  from  that  yet,  Walton.  But  it  is  won 
derful  how  much  the  commander  can  control  by 
using  his  bells,  annunciators,  speaking-tubes,  and 
electrical  indicators.  I  guess  that  is  a  great 
improvement  on  the  old  way  of  yelling  orders 


148  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

through  a  speaking-trumpet  and  having  a  dozen 
middies  rushing  around  telling  this  man  and  that 
what  to  do." 

"  No  doubt  of  it,  lad.  But  when  it's  all  done 
and  said,  you  must  remember  one  thing  —  we 
have  still  to  prove  the  worth  of  our  floating 
forts  in  war  times.  Dewey  did  well  at  Manila, 
but  it  may  be  that  the  Spanish  warships  out  there 
weren't  in  the  best  condition.  Now  this  Admiral 
Cervera,  whom  we  are  after,  has  ships  that  are 
thoroughly  up  to  date,  and  when  his  outfit  meets 
ours,  then  —  well,  we'll  see  what  we  will  see," 
concluded  the  old  gunner. 

That  afternoon  Walter  took  his  first  lesson  in 
making  knots.  He  had  had  some  idea  concerning 
a  variety  of  knots  which  had  been  taught  to  him  by 
Larry,  when  he  and  his  younger  brother  were 
sailing  about  Lake  Erie,  but  those  which  were 
now  exhibited  were  truly  bewildering. 

"The  single  bend  and  figure  of  8  are  easy 
enough,"  he  sighed.  "  But  when  you  come  to 
that  sheep-shank  and  bowline  upon  the  bight,  as 
you  term  them,  it  grows  confusing." 

"  This  is  only  the  beginning,"  answered  Caleb. 
"  After  you  know  the  knots,  you'll  want  to  learn 


AN   ADVENTURE   OFF    CHARLESTON  149 

the  hitches  —  half-hitch,  rolling-hitch,  and  so  on,  — 
and  after  that  you'll  want  to  take  up  the  splices, 
and  then  the  different  kinds  of  tackle,  —  long-tackle, 
single-whip,  and  all  that.  I  reckon  those  will 
keep  your  mind  busy  for  a  week  or  two.  To  be 
sure,  those  things  belong  more  to  a  seaman  than  a 
gun-hand,  but  it's  good  to  know  how  to  do,  in 
case  you  are  called  upon  at  some  time." 

The  night  came  on  with  a  storm  in  the  air. 
As  before,  all  the  lights  were  extinguished,  and 
the  different  watches  took  their  turns  at  the  guns. 
Walter  had  just  turned  in  when  a  shout  rang 
out.  "  Another  vessel  in  sight  !  "  As  rapidly  as 
possible  the  lad  leaped  up. 

"  Is  it  a  Spanish  warship  ?  "  he  asked. 

u  Don't  know,"  answered  Caleb,  laconically,  but 
leaped  to  the  gun,  with  Walter  and  the  others 
following. 

I -Jut  it  was  only  another  scare,  for  the  vessel  in 
sight  proved  to  be  a  merchantman  bound  for  a 
northern  port.  The  big  searchlight  of  the  Brook 
lyn  was  turned  upon  her,  and  instantly  every 
light  on  the  merchantman  went  out  and  the  ship 
sneaked  away  with  all  sails  set.  No  effort  was 
made  to  pursue  her. 


150  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  The  captain  of  that  craft  will  report  falling 
in  with  a  big  Spanish  fleet;  see  if  he  don't," 
said  Caleb;  and  the  old  gunner  was  right,  as  a 
newspaper  of  a  few  days  later  proved. 

By  noon  on  Sunday  Charleston  Harbor  was 
sighted,  and  a  few  hours  later  the  squadron  came 
to  anchor  near  Charleston  Bar,  nine  miles  from 
the  city. 

"  The  Sterling  isn't  in  sight,"  said  Walter,  as 
he  came  on  deck  and  took  a  look  behind.  "  I 
wonder  if  the  heavy  sea  was  too  much  for  the 
collier." 

"  Oh,  she'll  turn  up  sooner  or  later,"  answered 
Si.  "  But  a  boat  loaded  as  she  was  isn't  the 
safest  thing  to  sail  around  such  a  point  as  Cape 
Hatteras,  I  can  tell  you  that."  The  collier  came 
in  before  night,  reporting  a  thoroughly  disagree 
able  trip. 

A  lighthouse  tender  was  at  hand,  ready  to  take 
the  mail  ashore,  as  well  as  to  deliver  letters  and 
special  messages.  The  messages  were  at  once 
delivered  to  Commodore  Schley. 

"I  wonder  how  long  we'll  stop  here,"  said 
Walter.  "  I  wouldn't  mind  a  run  ashore,  just  to 
see  what  the  city  looks  like." 


AN   ADVENTU11E    OFF    CHARLESTON  151 

"  There  goes  a  signal  to  the  Texas"  said  Si,  as 
the  signalman  took  up  his  flag  and  began  to  wig 
wag.  "  Wait  a  moment  till  I  read  what  he  is 
saying." 

"  Can  you  read  it  ? "  asked  Walter,  in  deep 
interest. 

"  Certainly,  it's  easy  enough.  "  Si  began  to  spell 
to  himself.  "  '  W-h-a-t,  what  —  i-s,  is  —  y-o-u-r,  your 
—  b-e-s-t,  best  —  r-a-t-e,  rate  —  o-f,  of  —  s-p-e-e-d, 
speed  —  n-o-w,  now  ? '  He  is  asking  what  the 
Texas  can  do  at  once,  so  far  as  speed  is  concerned. 
That  means  something  important.  Hold  on,  here 
comes  the  answer."  Again  the  Yankee  youth 
began  to  spell.  "  Might  go  fifteen  and  a  half 
knots."  Then  the  signalman  on  the  Brooklyn 
sent  another  message.  "We  are  off  on  business 
now."  And  the  signal  went  up  for  the  squadron 
to  weigh  anchor  again. 

"  We're  off  for  a  fight  ! "  ejaculated  Walter. 
"  But  tell  me  about  that  wig-wagging,  Si ;  how 
do  they  signal  the  letters  ?  " 

"  It's  easy  enough.  You  take  a  small  flag  of 
some  bright  color,  attached  to  a  pole  six  or  eight 
feet  long.  As  soon  as  you  attract  the  attention 
of  the  other  fellow,  you  begin  to  use  the  flag  in 


152  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

three  motions,  to  the  right,  the  left,  and  down  in 
front.  To  the  right  means  one,  to  the  left  means 
two,  and  down  in  front  means  three.  Now  all  the 
letters  are  represented  by  combinations  of  num 
bers,  and  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  learn  the  com 
binations  and  spell  ahead.  It's  easy  enough  when 
one  gets  the  hang  of  it.  At  night  you  can  use 
a  lantern  instead  of  a  flag." 

"  That  is  easy,"  commented  Walter.  "  But  what 
about  those  signals  at  the  masthead.  Can  you 
read  those  ?  " 

"  No.  In  those,  most  every  flag  represents  a  let 
ter,  or  a  word,  or  sentence ;  but  to  read  the  signal 
you  have  got  to  have  either  the  international  sig 
nal  code-book,  or  else  the  United  States  Navy  code- 
book.  The  navy  code  is  locked  up  in  the  captain's 
cabin,  and  the  book  is  weighted  with  lead,  so  that 
if  anything  happens,  it  can  be  heaved  overboard 
and  sunk,  thus  keeping  it  out  of  the  enemy's 
hands." 

"  I  declare,  signalling  isn't  so  difficult,  after  all," 
cried  Walter.  "  To  me  it  looked  like  a  perfect 
jumble." 

"The  trouble  with  flags  is,  that  when  there's 
no  wind  they  won't  straighten  out  so  you  can  see 


AN  ADVENTURE  OFF  CHARLESTON      153 

'era,"  put  in  Caleb,  who  had  joined  the  pair. 
"Lanterns  are  more  to  be  depended  upon,  and 
they  have  a  new  system  now,  called  the  Ardois 
electric,  in  which  they  use  four  powerful  electric 
lights,  so  that  the  signals  can  be  read  at  a  dis 
tance  of  several  miles.  You'll  learn  all  about  them 
if  you  stay  in  the  navy  long  enough." 


CHAPTER   XIII 

IN    WHICH   THE   GOLD   PIECE   COMES    TO   LIGHT 

"  WHERE  now  ? "  was  the  question  which  more 
than  one  man  on  board  of  the  Brooklyn  asked  him 
self.  But  no  answer  was  forthcoming.  The  com 
modore,  captain,  and  commander  knew,  of  course, 
but  they  kept  the  information  to  themselves.  In 
war  it  is  a  rule  not  to  let  the  enemy  know  what 
you  are  doing  until  you  do  it,  and  so  a  strict 
guard  was  kept,  so  that  no  information  might  leak 
out.  Yet  Spanish  spies  in  Canada  learned  a  good 
deal,  and  notified  the  home  government  as  quickly 
as  it  could  be  done. 

From  Charleston  the  course  was  almost  due  south, 
and  both  Si  and  Caleb  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  flagship  and  her  sister  craft  were  bound  for 
Cuban  waters.  "  Perhaps  we're  going  to  join  in 
the  blockading  of  Havana,"  remarked  the  old 
gunner. 

"  Oh,  I  hope  not,"  said  Walter.  "  Riding  in 
154 


IN   WHICH   THE   GOLD   PIECE   COMES   TO   LIGHT      155 

one  spot  day  after  day  must  be  awfully  tiresome. 
I'd  like  to  hunt  the  Spaniards  out  and  do  them 
battle,  as  Dewey  did.  He  didn't  waste  any  time." 

Dewey's  name  was  to  be  heard  constantly,  for 
the  jackies  never  got  done  talking  about  this  first 
great  victory  of  the  war.  Some  of  them  had  served 
on  the  Olympia,  Boston,  and  other  vessels  of  the 
Asiatic  Squadron,  and  they  described  just  how 
these  boats  were  built,  and  what  parts  they  must 
have  taken  in  the  contest. 

"Don't  grow  impatient,  Walter,"  said  Caleb. 
"  We'll  run  up  against  something  soon  —  perhaps 
more  than  you  care  for.  It's  easy  enough  to  think 
of  sinking  an  enemy's  ship.  Supposing  he  puts 
a  few  thirteen-inch  shells  through  your  craft,  and 
you  begin  to  go  down  —  what  then  ?  " 

"  I'll  make  the  best  of  it,"  returned  the  boy, 
calmly.  "  I  enlisted  to  fight  for  Uncle  Sam,  and 
I'm  willing  to  take  what  comes." 

Jim  Haskett  was  passing  when  Walter  made  this 
remark,  and  his  lip  curled  Avith  a  sneer.  ''That 
boy  is  too  big  for  his  boots,"  muttered  the  seaman. 
"I  can't  see  what  the  other  men  find  in  him  to 
like." 

Jim   Haskett  was   more  sour  than   ever,  for   his 


156  FIGHTING    IX   CUBAN    WATERS 

disagreeable  ways  had  lost  to  him  the  few  friends 
he  had  picked  up  when  first  coming  on  board. 
The  fact  that  Si  and  Walter  were  growing  more 
popular  every  day  caused  him  fairly  to  grate  his 
teeth  with  rage. 

"  I'll  fix  him,  see  if  I  don't,"  he  told  himself 
that  night.  "  They  shan't  tell  everybody  that  I 
took  that  gold  piece  —  when  I  didn't  touch  his 
bag." 

Jim  Haskett  was  one  of  those  mean,  unscrupu 
lous  men,  who  do  a  wrong  and  then  try  to  argue 
themselves  into  thinking  that  it  is  all  right.  It 
was  not  true  that  he  had  taken  the  ten-dollar  gold 
piece  from  Si's  bag,  but  it  was  true  that  he  had 
found  the  Yankee  boy's  satchel  overturned  and 
partly  open,  and  had  closed  it  Tip  and  locked  it, 
and  afterward  found  the  money  on  the  floor  of  the 
car  within  a  few  feet  of  where  the  bag  had  stood. 
Any  fair-minded  man  would  have  told  himself  that 
the  gold  piece  must  be  the  one  lost  by  Si ;  but 
Haskett  was  not  fair-minded,  and  it  was  doubtful 
if  the  man  could  ever  become  so,  any  more  than 
a  dwarfed  and  crippled  tree  can  be  forced  to  be 
come  straight  and  upright. 

On    Monday    morning,    the     day    after    leaving 


IX   WHICH   THE   GOLD    PIECE   COMES    TO   LIGHT      157 

Charleston  Bar,  Haskett  heard  Caleb  tell  Walter 
and  Si  that  the  gun  must  be  cleaned  and  oiled. 
"We'll  go  over  the  piece  from  top  to  bottom  to 
morrow,"  said  the  old  gunner,  "  and  if  there  is  any 
thing  more  that  you  don't  understand  I'll  explain 
it  to  you." 

"  This  is  my  chance,"  said  Haskett  to  himself, 
and  lost  no  time  in  bringing  forth  the  gold  piece 
from  the  place  where  he  had  hidden  it.  Watching 
his  opportunity,  when  Caleb,  Si,  and  Walter  were 
asleep  that  night,  he  secreted  the  piece  in  a  corner 
of  the  track  upon  which  the  gun-base  revolved. 

Inside  of  half  an  hour  after  breakfast  the  next 
day,  Walter,  stripped  to  the  waist,  was  working 
over  the  gun,  in  company  with  his  friends  and 
Steve  Colton,  the  second  gun-captain,  and  Carl 
Stuben,  the  hose-man.  All  were  supplied  with 
cotton  waste,  polishing-paste,  and  rags,  and  in  a 
short  while  the  bright  portions  of  the  gun  shone 
like  a  mirror. 

"  There,  I  reckon  that  will  suit  the  chief  gunner," 
was  Caleb's  remark  as  he  stood  back  to  inspect  the 
work.  "No  piece  on  the  starboard  side  brighter 
than  this,  I'll  wager  my  month's  pay." 

Si  was   bending  down   under  the  gun,  swabbing 


158  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

up  some  oil  which  had  run  clown  from  one  of  the 
working  joints.  Suddenly  the  Yankee  youth  threw 
down  his  swab  and  caught  up  something  which 
shone  in  spite  of  the  dirt  upon  it. 

"  My  gold  piece,  as  sure  as  you're  born  !  "  he 
ejaculated,  after  he  had  made  an  inspection  at  the 
porthole.  "  Now  how  in  creation  did  that  get 
there  ? " 

He  looked  at  Caleb,  and  half  unconsciously  both 
turned  to  Walter. 

"What's  that?"  asked  the  youth. 

"  My  gold  piece  —  I  found  it  hidden  under  the 
gun-track,"  answered  Si. 

Walter's  face  turned  red,  as  he  remembered  what 
Jim  Haskett  had  said  concerning  his  talking  in  his 
sleep.  "  Why,  Si  —  are  —  are  you  sure  it  is  your 
piece  ?  "  he  faltered. 

"  Certainly.  There  is  the  date,  1876  —  centennial 
year,  and  here  is  a  scratch  I  once  made  with  my 
jack-knife.  It's  the  very  one  that  was  taken  from 
my  bag,  beyond  any  doubt." 

Si  continued  to  look  at  Walter,  while  Caleb  sud 
denly  turned  and  gazed  out  of  the  porthole, 
while  Stuben,  the  hose-man,  whistled  softly  to 
himself. 


IX    WHICH   THE   GOLD   PIECE   COMES   TO    LIGHT       159 

"  Why,  Si,  have  you  got  your  money  back  ? " 
cried  Paul,  who  had  just  chanced  up. 

"Yes." 

"  And  where  did  you  find  it  ?  " 

"Under  the  gun,  by  the  track."  And  Si  pointed 
out  the  place  with  his  forefinger. 

"  Under  the  gun  !  Why,  that  is  where  Haskett 
said  Walter  hid  it !  "  was  Paul's  comment,  before 
he  stopped  to  think  twice.  "I  mean  —  that  is, 
Haskett  said  something  about  it,"  he  stammered. 

"I  know  he  did,"  answered  the  Yankee  youth, 
coldly. 

Walter's  face  was  burning  hotly  now,  and  he 
could  scarcely  trust  himself  to  speak.  "  Si,  do  you 
think  I  put  that  money  there  ? "  he  asked  in  a 
strained  voice. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  to  think,"  was  the 
dogged  answer,  and  now  Si  turned  his  gaze  away. 
"  Haskett  said  —  well,  you  know  what,  —  and  Cal 
Blinker  backed  him  up  in  it,"  he  went  on,  hesitat 
ingly. 

"  Yes,  I  know  what  Haskett.  and  Blinker  said," 
answered  Walter.  "  But  —  but  —  do  you  think  I 
stole  your  money  ? "  The  words  would  scarcely 
come,  but  he  forced  them  out. 


160  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

"  I  don't  say  that,  Walter ;  but  the  whole  thing 
looks  mighty  queer." 

"  I  have  it  !  "  burst  out  Caleb.  "  Perhaps  Walter 
put  the  money  there  when  he  was  asleep.  Folks 
often  do  queer  things  when  they  have  the  night 
mare." 

"  Yes,  but  if  he  put  it  there  while  he  was  asleep, 
how  did  he  come  by  it  in  the  first  place  ? "  ques 
tioned  Si,  bluntly. 

"  Perhaps  he  took  it  out  of  the  bag  while  he  was 
asleep  on  the  train,"  suggested  Caleb.  "  You  had  the 
bag  with  you  all  the  way  from  Boston,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"And  Walter  bunked  with  you,  too?" 

"He  did." 

"  Then  it's  as  plain  as  day,"  went  on  the  old 
gunner.  "  Walter  took  the  money  while  you  were 
asleep  on  the  train  and  hid  it  away  in  his  clothing, 
or  somewhere.  When  he  got  on  board  he  took  to 
sleep-walking  and  put  the  piece  under  the  gun. 
Of  course  he  doesn't  know  anything  about  the  trans 
action." 

Again  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  Walter,  whose 
face  was  as  red  as  ever.     "  Perhaps    that's   true  — 
but    it's    mighty    queer,"    murmured    Colton,    the 
second  gun-captain. 


IN    WHICH   THE   GOLD    PIECE   COMES   TO   LIGHT      1G1 

"  I  don't  believe  I  did  anything  of  the  sort !  " 
cried  the  youth,  at  last.  "  I  can  give  you  my  word 
on  it  that  I  never  saw  Si's  money  until  just  now. 
To  my  mind,  this  whole  matter  is  a  job  put  up  by 
Jim  Haskett.  He  took  the  money,  and  then  when 
Si  raised  such  an  ado  about  it  he  was  afraid  to  get 
it  changed  or  to  spend  it,  and  he  watched  his  chance 
to  get  rid  of  it.  He's  down  on  me,  and  when  lie 
heard  me  mutter  in  my  sleep  he  formed  his  plan  to 
get  me  into  trouble.  I'm  going  to  find  Haskett  on 
the  spot."  And  off  he  rushed  before  anybody  could 
detain  him. 

I  laskett  was  discovered  mending  his  jacket,  which 
had  become  torn  the  evening  before.  "  What  do 
you  want  ?  "  he  asked,  as  Walter  ran  up  and  caught 
him  fiercely  by  the  arm. 

"  I  want  you  to  own  up  to  your  dirty  trick  on 
me,"  answered  the  boy.  "  You  thought  you  had 
me,  but  your  little  plot  won't  work." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ? "  blustered  Haskett,  al 
though  he  knew  well  enough  what  was  coming. 

By  this  time  the  crowd  had  followed  Walter,  and 
they  gathered  round  the  pair.  Soon  Haskett  had 
heard  all  there  was  to  say. 

"Don't  lay  it  off    on  me,"    he    cried.      "I    knew 


162 

Russell  was  guilty  from  the  start.  Si  Doring  can 
think  as  he  pleases.  As  for  me,  I'm  glad  that  I'm 
not  training  with  a  night-walker — -or  a  thief." 

Walter  leaped  forward  with  blazing  eyes.  But 
before  he  could  strike  out,  Caleb  caught  him, 
while  another  man  held  Haskett.  Then,  before 
anything  more  could  be  done  or  said,  Si  stepped 
to  the  front. 

"  Haskett,  I  lost  the  money,  and  I  think  I  ought 
tp  have  the  biggest  say  in  this  matter.  If  you 
played  a  trick  on  Walter,  you  are  the  meanest 
man  that  ever  trod  the  deck  of  a  ship.  If  you 
didn't,  let  me  say  that  I  don't  think  Walter  stole 
the  gold  piece,  although  he  may  have  taken  it  while 
he  was  asleep  and  not  responsible  for  his  doings." 

"  Thank  you  for  saying  that,  Si,"  came  from 
Walter.  "  But  I  don't  think  I  took  it  even  when 
asleep.  To  my  mind  Haskett  is  guilty,  and  nobody 
else." 

"  If  I  wasn't  held  —  '  began  Haskett,  when  a 
young  seaman  named  George  Ellis,  chief  yeoman  of 
the  Brooklyn,  stepped  forward  and  asked  to  know 
what  the  trouble  was  about. 

"  I  think  I  can  tell  something  about  this,"  said 
George  Ellis,  after  the1  matter  had  been  explained. 


IN    WHICH   THE    GOLD    PIECE    COMES    TO    LIGHT       163 

"  You  just  hold  your  jaw  !  "  stormed  Haskett. 
"  You  don't  know  anything." 

"  I  know  what  I  see,"  answered  the  chief  yeoman, 
pointedly  ;  and  something  in  his  manner  attracted 
such  attention  that  all  in  the  crowd  gathered 
around  to  learn  what  he  might  have  to  say. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

KEY   WEST,    AND   THE   LAST    OF   JIM   HASKETT 

GEORGE  ELLIS  was  known  to  be  an  upright 
honest  man,  and  one  whose  word  was  worth  taking 
upon  every  occasion.  He  had  an  education  above 
that  of  the  ordinary  man  in  the  navy,  and  was 
anxious  to  make  something  of  himself  while  in 
the  service  of  his  country,  never  dreaming,  alas  ! 
that  his  life  was  so  soon  to  be  taken  from  him 
during  our  struggle  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and 
Cuban  freedom. 

"  And  what  did  you  see  ? "  questioned  Caleb,  as 
all  eyes  were  turned  upon  Ellis,  inquiringly. 

"It  was  last  night,"  answered  the  Range  Finder, 
for  such  was  the  man's  popular  title,  given  him 
because  he  was  so  good  at  determining  distances. 
"  I  was  rather  feverish  and  couldn't  sleep.  1 
walked  the  berth  deck  for  a  while  and  then  went 
up  to  Walton's  gun  and  stood  leaning  out  of  the 
porthole,  gazing  at  the  water. 

104 


KEY    WEST,    AND    THE   LAST    OF    JIM    HASKETT      165 

"  Presently  I  heard  a  slight  noise  behind  me,  and 
turning  around  I  saw  in  a  dim  way  the  figure  of  a 
man  behind  me.  He  was  bending  down  under  the 
gun,  as  if  he  was  hunting  for  something.  I  was 
just  on  the  point  of  speaking  to  him  when  he 
straightened  up  and  slunk  away  as  silently  as  a 
ghost.  I  watched  him,  and  when  he  got  under 
the  rays  of  the  electric  light  I  got  a  good  look 
at  his  face." 

"  And  was  it  this  man  ? "  cried  Si,  pointing  to 
Jim  Haskett. 

"It  was." 

With  a  cry  of  anger  Si  leaped  upon  Haskett 
and  bore  him  to  the  deck.  "  You  good-for-nothin' 
rascal!"  he  panted.  "Will  try  to  shove  off  your 
dirty  tricks  on  Walter,  eh  ?  So  you  stole  my 
money  and  then  got  afraid  to  use  it  ?  Take  that, 
and  that,  and  that  !  " 

Each  that  was  a  blow  in  the  face,  one  on  the 
cheek,  another  on  the  nose,  and  a  third  directly 
in  Haskett's  left  eye.  They  were  heavy,  and 
Haskett  roared  with  pain. 

"Let  up!"  he  sputtered.      "Let  go  of  me,"- 
the  latter  to  Caleb,  who  still  held  him.     "  Oh,  my 
eye  !     Is  this  fair  fighting,   two  to  one  ?  " 


166  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  It  is  as  fair  as  you  treated  Walter,"  answered 
Caleb.  "Give  him  another,  Si;  he  deserves  it." 
And  Si  followed  directions  by  planting  a  blow  on 
Haskett's  neck,  something  which  spun  the  former 
mate  of  the  Sunflower  around  like  a  top.  At  last 
Haskett  broke  loose  and  backed  awa}". 

"I'll  get  square  on  all  of  you!"  he  foamed, 
shaking  his  fist  first  at  Caleb  and  then  at  the 
others.  "I'm  not  done  yet." 

"  I've  a  good  mind  to  report  you,"  put  in 
Walter.  "  I  reckon  you'd  be  good  for  a  month 
in  irons,  on  bread  and  water." 

At  this  Haskett  grew  pale.  "  The  officers  won't 
believe  your  story.  Ellis,  and  the  rest  of  you 
haven't  any  witnesses,"  he  replied,  but  his  voice 
shook.  "  Just  wait  ;  my  day  will  come  some 
time."  And  then,  as  Si  started  to  advance  again, 
he  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

"That  settles  that  mystery,"  remarked  Caleb, 
when  the  excitement  was  over.  "  I  calculate, 
Walter,  that  you  are  not  sorry  the  way  matters 
came  out." 

"No,  indeed."  Walter  turned  to  George  Ellis. 
"  I  owe  you  one  for  your  kindness.  I'll  not  for 
get  it." 


I'LL  GET  SQUARK  Ox  ALL  OF   You!" 

Pa  ye  1 66 


KEY   WEST,    AND    THE   LAST   OF    JIM   HASKETT      167 

"  That's  all  right  —  I  only  did  what  any  fair- 
minded  fellow  would  do,"  answered  the  chief 
yeoman,  and  strolled  away. 

It  was  time  for  dinner,  and  Walter  hurried  off 
arm  in  arm  with  Si,  who  was  still  somewhat 
worked  up  over  what  had  happened.  "  Walter, 
don't  you  go  for  to  imagine  I  thought  you 
guilty,"  said  the  Yankee  boy.  "  I  know  you  are 
honest  to  the  core." 

"  Even  if  I  do  talk  in  my  sleep,"  said  Wal 
ter,  from  whose  heart  a  great  load  had  been 
lifted. 

Once  more  the  course  of  the  Flying  Squadron  had 
been  changed  and  now  they  were  making  straight 
for  the  coast  of  Florida.  Tuesday  passed  quietly, 
although  the  same  vigilance  prevailed  as  before. 
It  was  evident,  come  what  might,  Commodore 
Schley  did  not  mean  to  allow  the  enemy  to 
catch  him  napping. 

They  had  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Florida, 
and  now  they  turned  to  the  westward,  past  a 
number  of  the  Florida  Reefs.  Far  across  the 
ocean  could  be  seen  the  low-lying  shore,  backed 
up  by  stately  palms  and  other  trees.  The  weather 
was  now  much  warmer. 


168  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAX    WATERS 

"  You  see,  we  are  drawing  closer  to  the  equa 
tor,"  remarked  Caleb.  "  I  reckon  we  are  bound 
for  Key  West."  And  his  surmise  proved  correct, 
for  they  dropped  anchors  in  Key  West  Harbor 
early  on  the  morning  following. 

"  What  a  lot  of  warships  around  here,"  cried 
Walter,  as  he  came  on  deck.  "What  is  that  big 
fellow  over  yonder  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  Iowa"  answered  the  old  gunner. 
"  You  can  well  say  big  fellow,  for  the  Iowa  is  the 
largest  seagoing  battleship  we  possess.  She  has 
a  displacement  of  over  eleven  thousand  tons  and 
can  speed  in  any  sea  at  over  seventeen  knots. 
She  carries  four  12-inch  guns  and  a  whole  host 
of  others.  Her  armor  belt  is  solid  steel,  four 
teen  inches  thick." 

"  She's  a  beauty.  I  wonder  if  she  will  go  out 
with  us  ?  " 

"  That  is  according  to  what  Rear  Admiral 
Sampson  has  to  say  about  it,  lad.  You  see, 
this  campaign  in  Atlantic  waters  is  largely  in 
his  hands." 

The  Iowa  lay  quite  close,  and  during  the  day 
several  messages  were  transmitted  from  one  war 
ship  to  the  other  by  means  of  the  wig-wag 


KEY    WEST,    AND    THE   LAST    OF    JIM    HASKETT      169 

system.  Walter  had  now  mastered  the  mysteries 
of  wig-wagging-  and  amused  himself  by  spelling 
out  the  messages  as  they  passed  to  and  fro. 

A  salute  had  been  fired  when  the  commodore 
entered  the  harbor,  eleven  rounds  being  shot  off. 
"  If  he  was  a  rear-admiral,  he'd  get  thirteen  guns," 
explained  Caleb.  "  You  see  the  salute  varies  from 
the  President  down.  McKinley  gets  twenty-one 
guns,  the  Yice-President  or  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  nineteen  guns,  a  foreign  minister  fifteen 
guns,  a  consul  seven  guns,  and  so  on.  By  count 
ing  the  guns  every  man  on  the  ships  can  tell 
what  sort  of  a  dignitary  has  arrived." 

It  was  a  cloudy  day,  and  the  air  was  so  close  that 
Walter  was  glad  enough  to  take  it  easy.  Presently 
he  saw  a  boat  leave  the  side,  containing  several 
petty  officers  and  George  Ellis  and  Jim  Haskett. 

"  I  wonder  where  they  are  going,"  said  Walter 
to  Si. 

"  Some  special  business  for  Captain  Cook,"  an 
swered  Paul,  who  stood  near.  "  Oh,  but  Haskett 
is  in  an  ugly  mood  to-day.  It  will  be  a  big  won 
der  if  he  and  Ellis  don't  get  into  a  fight  before 
they  come  back." 

"  Ellis  is  too  much  of  a  gentleman  to  fight  with 


170  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATKRS 

any  one,"  returned  Walter.  "  By  tlie  way,  what 
is  his  real  position  on  board  ?  " 

"  He  is  chief  yeoman,"  replied  Si.  "  He  is 
going  ashore  to  look  after  some  ship's  stores,  so  I 
heard  him  tell  one  of  the  paymasters." 

The  small  boat  was  soon  out  of  sight,  and 
Walter  turned  away  to  seek  the  shade,  for  it  was 
growing  hotter  and  hotter.  "  If  this  is  a  sample 
of  weather  in  the  torrid  zone,  what  shall  we  do 
when  we  get  into  Cuban  waters  ? "  he  observed. 

"We  are  not  very  far  from  Cuban  waters  now," 
said  the  Yankee  youth.  "  We  could  make  Havana 
in  six  or  seven  hours  if  it  was  necessary." 

"  I  wonder  how  the  people  of  that  city  feel,  Si, 
all  cooped  up  as  they  have  been  for  so  long." 

"  I  reckon  they  wish  they  had  some  fighting 
ships  to  come  out  after  us,  Walter.  I've  heard  it 
said  that  General  Blanco  hardly  knows  how  to 
turn  himself,  food  is  so  scarce  and  so  many  idlers 
are  about.  It  wouldn't  surprise  me  if  they  had 
a  riot  there,  if  they  haven't  had  one  already. 
Even  soldiers  won't  keep  quiet  when  the  grub 
fails." 

But  little  could  be  seen  of  Key  West  outside 
of  the  numerous  shipping.  Presently  a  couple  of 


KEY    WEST,    AND    THE   LAST    OF   JIM   HASKETT      171 

petty  officers  came  along  with  marine  glasses  and 
one  pointed  out  to  his  companion  several  Spanish 
prizes  in  the  port.  "  They'll  be  worth  a  good  bit 
of  money  to  the  sailors  on  the  blockade,"  he  added. 
"I  wish  we  were  in  for  a  share  of  the  spoils." 

"There  are  several  transports,"  said  Caleb,  on 
joining  his  friends.  "  They  are  fitting  out  to  go 
to  Tampa.  It  won't  be  long  before  an  army  of 
invasion  starts  for  Cuba." 

"I  wonder  if  my  brother  Ben  will  go  along," 
mused  Walter,  but  just  then  to  get  word  from  his 
older  brother  was  impossible. 

Inside  of  two  hours  the  small  craft  came  back. 
Somewhat  to  his  surprise  Walter  saw  that  Jim 
Haskett  was  missing.  He  would  not  have  thought 
much  of  this  had  it  not  been  that  the  Brooklyn 
was  already  preparing  to  continue  on  her  trip. 

"  Haskett  did  not  come  back,"  he  announced  to 
Si.  "  I'll  wager  something  is  wrong." 

"  Oli,  I  guess  not,"  said  the  Yankee  youth  ; 
nevertheless,  he,  too,  began  to  watch  for  the 
former  mate  of  the  Sunfloiver. 

Several  hours  later  Walter  passed  George  Ellis 
on  the  upper  deck  and  saluted.  The  chief  yeo 
man  hesitated  and  then  called  Walter  to  him. 


172  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  I  suppose  you  and  your  friend  will  be  in 
terested  to  know  that  James  Haskett  lias  been 
left  behind  at  Key  West  under  military  arrest," 
he  began. 

"  Indeed  !     And  what  for,  if  I  may  ask  ?  " 

"  For    srettinff    into     a     rough-and-tumble    fi^ht 

o  o  o  o 

with  a  soldier  named  Grumbell.  It  seems  Grum- 
bell  once  owned  a  fishing-smack  down  East,  and 
Haskett  failed  to  settle  up  on  a  cargo  of  fish 
he  sold  for  Grumbell  three  years  ago.  They 
had  a  quarrel  of  words  and  then  got  to  blows, 
and  Haskett  hit  a  captain  of  the  regulars  who 
tried  to  separate  them.  Both  he  and  the  soldier 
are  now  in  prison,  and  I  rather  imagine  it  will 
go  pretty  hard  with  the  seaman,  for  striking  a 
captain  is  no  light  offence."  And  after  a  few 
words  more,  George  Ellis  passed  on. 

Of  course  Walter  lost  no  time  in  carrying  the 
news  to  his  friends.  All  listened  with  interest, 
and  Si  said  he  was  glad  Haskett  was  gone. 
"  And  I  hope  he  doesn't  ever  come  back,"  he 
added. 

And  Jim  Haskett  never  did  come  back,  nor 
did  Walter  ever  set  eyes  on  the  man  again.  For 
quarrelling  with  the  soldier  and  striking  the  cap- 


KEY   WEST,    AND   THE   LAST    OF    JIM    HASKETT      173 

tain  of  the  regulars,  Jim  Haskett  was  dishonora 
bly  discharged  from  the  navy,  and  sentenced  to 
a  year's  imprisonment  at  hard  labor.  Thus,  in 
a  roundabout  way,  was  the  rascal  made  to  suffer 
the  punishment  he  so  richly  deserved. 


CHAPTER   XV 

FHOM    CIENFUEGOS   TO    SANTIAGO   BAY 

FROM  Key  West  the  Flying  Squadron  set  sail 
direct  for  Cienfuegos.  The  Brooklyn,  Massachusetts, 
Texas,  and  Scorpion  left  together,  and  were  fol 
lowed,  twenty-four  hours  later,  by  the  Iowa,  men 
tioned  in  the  previous  chapter,  and  by  the  Castine 
and  the  collier  Merrimac. 

Cienfuegos  is  a  town  of  good  size  lying  on  a 
small  bay  on  the  south  coast  of  Cuba,  about  mid 
way  between  the  eastern  and  western  extremities. 
For  several  days  the  Navy  Department  had  been 
watching,  or  trying  to  watch,  the  movements  of 
the  Spanish  squadron,  satisfied  at  last  that  it  was 
somewhere  in  Cuban  waters.  One  report  had  it 
that  Admiral  Cervera  was  at  Cienfuegos,  another 
that  he  was  at  Santiago  de  Cuba,  many  miles  to 
the  eastward.  Commodore  Schley  was  now  sent 
out  to  bring  the  truth  to  light,  were  it  possible 
to  do  so. 

174 


FROM   CIENFUEGOS    TO    SANTIAGO   BAY         175 

The  rainy  season,  as  it  is  termed,  was  at  its 
height  in  this  vicinity,  and  the  showers  came 
down  nearly  all  day,  striking  the  hot  metal  decks, 
and  converting  the  water  into  something  closely 
resembling  steam.  It  was  so  muggy  and  uncom 
fortable  that  hardly  any  of  the  jackies  could  sleep, 
and  more  than  one  poor  fellow  was  overcome  and 
had  to  be  carried  to  the  sick  bay  for  treatment. 

"  If  that  Spanish  squadron  has  passed  Santiago 
and  Cienfuegos,  and  is  crawling  up  around  the 
western  turn  of  Cuba,  it  won't  be  long  before  we 
see  some  hot  work,"  observed  Caleb,  as  he  lounged 
at  a  porthole,  devoid  of  any  clothing  but  his 
shirt  and  trousers. 

"  Any  kind  of  work  would  be  hot,"  said  Walter, 
laughingly.  "  Why,  I  think  a  fellow  could  cook 
eggs  on  deck." 

o  o 

"  Puts  me  in  mind  of  a  voyage  I  took  to  South 
America,"  put  in  Si,  who  had  just  soused  his  head 
into  a  bucket  of  water,  and  was  dripping  from 
nose,  ears,  and  chin  in  consequence.  "  We  lay 
off  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  for  two  days,  wait 
ing  to  get  on  a  cargo  of  rubber.  It  was  right 
under  the  equator,  and  the  tar  just  poured  out  of 
all  our  seams.  One  afternoon  I  ran  across  the 


176  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATEKS 

deck  in  my  bare  feet,  for  I  was  taking  a  swim, 
and  as  true  as  I  live  I  blistered  my  feet." 

"  Oh,  that's  nothing,"  returned  Caleb,  dryly. 
"  I  was  under  the  equator  once,  off  the  coast  of 
Columbia  in  the  bark  Sally  D.  The  captain  let 
us  go  fishing  in  the  jolly-boat.  We  caught  about 
a  dozen  fish  and  threw  'em  in  the  bottom  as  fast 
as  they  came  in,  and  when  we  got  back  to  the 
bark  hang  me  if  the  first  two  fish  we  had  brought 
up  weren't  baked  as  nice  as  you  please,  all  fit 
for  the  captain's  table."  And  Caleb  turned  away 
and  began  to  whistle  softly  to  himself,  while  Si 
continued  his  ablutions  without  another  word. 
Among  old  sailors,  "  matching  yarns  "  is  a  constant 
pastime,  and  the  stories  sometimes  told  would  shame 
even  a  Baron  Munchausen. 

The  watch  on  board  of  the  warship  was  now 
more  strict  than  ever,  and  the  men  slept  at  their 
guns,  sometimes  not  seeing  a  hammock  for  several 
nights.  Everybody,  from  the  captain  down  to  the 
apprentices,  felt  that  a  crisis  could  not  be  far 
off. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  while  Commodore 
Schley  was  skirting  the  southern  coast  of  Cuba, 
the  northern  coast  was  neglected,  for  such  was 


FROM   CIENFUEGOS    TO    SANTIAGO    BAY         177 

not  the  case.  The  blockade  of  Havana  and  vicin 
ity  still  continued,  and  in  addition  Rear-Admiral 
Sampson  took  his  own  flagship,  the  New  York, 
and  several  other  warships,  and  sailed  eastward, 
thinking  to  occupy  the  St.  Nicholas  Channel. 
Thus,  if  Admiral  Cervera  tried  to  gain  the  vicin 
ity  of  Havana  by  the  northern  coast,  he  would  be 
likely  to  fall  in  with  Sampson  ;  if  he  took  the 
southern  way,  Schley  would  intercept  his  path. 
By  keeping  his  ships  in  the  St.  Nicholas  Channel 
Sampson  remained  ever  ready  to  dash  northward 
should  the  Spanish  destroyers  take  a  new  course 
and  show  themselves  along  our  own  coast. 

"  We  are  coming  in  sight  of  land,"  cried  Walter, 
toward  nightfall,  two  days  after  leaving  Key  West. 
"  I  suppose  this  is  some  port  on  the  southern  coast 
of  Cuba." 

"  It  is  Cienfuegos  Bay,"  returned  Caleb.  "  I 
just  heard  one  of  the  officers  say  so.  We're  to 
lie  at  anchor  until  morning,  and  then  perhaps  the 
fun  will  commence." 

At  this  announcement  Walter's  heart  beat  quickly, 
and  it  must  be  admitted  that  he  did  not  sleep  a 
wink  that  night  for  speculating  on  what  the  mor 
row  might  bring  forth.  In  this  particular,  his 


178  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

thoughts  were  not  far  different  from  those  of 
every  one  else  on  board. 

Daybreak  brought  more  rain,  and  the  big  war 
ship  rode  on  the  long  swells  of  the  ocean  grim 
and  silent.  Not  far  away  lay  the  Texas,  and 
several  newcomers  could  be  seen  approaching  from 
a  distance.  "  This  looks  like  business,"  observed 
Si  to  Walter,  and  the  boy  nodded. 

Immediately  after  breakfast  the  signal  was  hoisted 
to  clear  ship  for  action,  and  once  more  the  jackies 
rushed  to  their  various  places  and  got  into  fight 
ing  trim.  Then  the  great  engines  of  the  Brooklyn 
began  to  work,  and  they  crept  slowly  toward  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor. 

"If  Cervera  is  there,  he  keeps  himself  pretty 
well  hidden,"  remarked  one  of  the  officers,  within 
hearing  of  Walter.  "  I  don't  see  anything  that 
looks  like  a  warship." 

Presently  the  flagship  came  to  a  halt,  and  the 
Texas  steamed  past  her  and  quite  close  to  the 
harbor.  Here  the  Spaniards  had  a  small  land 
battery,  but  it  kept  silent.  The  inner  portion  of 
the  bay  was  hidden  from  view  by  a  high  spur  of 
land. 

What  to  do  next  was  a  problem.     If  the  Spanish 


FROM    CIENFUEGOS    TO    SANTIAGO    BAY         179 

squadron  was  really  there,  it  would  be  foolhardy 
to  rush  in  and  do  battle  while  the  enemy  would 
have  the  support  of  the  shore  battery.  Commo 
dore  Schley  thought  the  matter  over  and,  ever  on 
the  alert,  decided  to  play  a  waiting  game. 

Sunday  passed  without  anything  unusual  devel 
oping,  and  so  did  the  day  following.  The  strain 
on  the  men  at  the  guns  was  great,  for  they  were 
on  duty  constantly.  Night  and  day  the  bosom  of 
the  outer  bay  was  closely  watched,  for  it  was 
known  that  Cervera  had  with  him  one  or  two 
torpedo-boat  destroyers,  and  these  were  dreaded 
more  than  anything  else. 

"  Let  one  of  those  torpedo  destroyers  get  near 
us,  and  we'll  go  up  as  quickly  as  did  the  Maine" 
said  Caleb.  "  I'm  not  afraid  of  the  dagos,  but 
let  me  get  out  of  the  way  of  a  torpedo  boat  every 
time."  And  this  opinion  was  shared  by  all  Walton's 
messmates. 

"  There's  another  boat  coming  up,"  announced 
Si,  at  six  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning.  "  Walton, 
what  do  you  make  her  out  to  be  ?  " 

"  She's  the  Marblehead,"  was  the  old  gunner's 
answer,  after  a  long  look  at  the  craft.  "  And 
she's  got  despatches  for  the  commodore,"  he  added, 


180  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

as  the  signal  went  up  and  a  small  boat  put  off 
for  the  Brooklyn.  Soon  Commander  McCalla  of 
the  Marble-head  came  on  board,  and  a  long  con 
ference  with  Commodore  Scliley  resulted,  after 
which  the  newly  arrived  officer  departed  for  his 
own  warship  with  all  possible  speed.  McCalla's 
mission  was  to  communicate  with  the  Cuban  insur 
gents  who  were  encamped  near  Cienfuegos,  with 
a  view  to  ascertaining  if  Admiral  Cervera's  ships 
were  really  in  the  harbor. 

The  morning  passed  quietly,  and  by  noon  the 
Marblehead  and  her  commander  returned.  The 
Cuban  spies  had  made  an  investigation,  and  not  a 
single  ship  of  war  belonging  to  Spain  had  been 
found,  outside  of  a  little  harbor  vessel  of  small 
moment. 

It  was  now  thought  that  if  Admiral  Cervera 
was  not  at  Cienfuegos  he  must  either  be  on  his 
way  hither  or  at  Santiago.  Accordingly,  toward 
evening,  the  squadron  received  orders  to  sail  for 
Santiago. 

"We're  off  for  Santiago  Bay,"  said  Caleb. 
"  And  if  we  don't  find  the  dagos  there,  I'll  give 
up  where  they  are.  Perhaps  they  have  gone  back 
to  Spain."  He  continually  alluded  to  the  Spaniards 


FROM    CIENFUEGOS    TO    SANTIAGO    BAY         181 

as  dagos,  —  a  term  which  became  quite  common 
among  soldiers  and  sailors  during  the  war,  although 
many  referred  to  the  enemy  as  the  Dons. 

It  had  cleared  off,  and  the  sun  shone  down 
fiercely  on  the  deck  and  elsewhere.  Inside  of  the 
steel  turrets  the  air  was  stifling,  and  no  one  could 
remain  at  his  post  over  a  couple  of  hours.  From 
below,  the  engineers,  firemen,  and  coal-heavers 
came  up  constantly  for  a  whiff  of  fresh  air. 

"We're  badly  enough  off,"  remarked  Walter. 
"  But  look  at  those  poor  chaps.  Why,  some  of 
the  firemen  look  ready  to  melt." 

"  Yes,  and  the  worst  of  it  is  they  never  get  any 
credit  when  it  comes  to  a  battle,"  added  Caleb. 
"  Now  to  my  mind,  the  engineer  who  sticks  to 
his  engine  during  a  battle,  obeying  orders  and 
running  the  risk  of  having  a  shot  plough  through 
a  boiler  and  scald  him  to  death,  is  just  as  much 
of  a  hero  as  the  chap  behind  a  gun  —  and  in  one 
way  he's  more  of  a  hero  ;  for  if  the  ship  should 
start  to  sink,  a  gunner  has  got  the  chance  to  leap 
overboard  and  swim  for  it,  while  the  man  below 
is  likely  to  be  drowned  like  a  rat  in  a  trap." 

"  And  the  coal-heavers  work  harder  than  negroes," 
put  in  Paul.  "  Just  think  of  the  tons  and  tons 


182  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

of  coal  they  shovel  every  twenty-four  hours  when 
we  are  under  full  steam.  I'm  quite  certain  such 
work  would  break  my  back." 

"  Oh,  life  on  a  warship  isn't  all  a  picnic,"  was 
Si's  comment.  "  If  a  fellow  enlists  to  have  an 
easy  time  of  it,  he  deserves  to  get  left.  I  enlisted 
to  serve  Uncle  Sam,  and  I'm  going  to  do  it — if 
Providence  will  give  me  the  chance.'' 

As  Commodore  Schley  sailed  toward  Santiago 
from  Cienfuegos,  Rear-Admiral  Sampson,  gaining 
additional  information  concerning  the  whereabouts 
of  the  enemy,  moved  slowly  and  cautiously  east 
ward  toward  Cape  Maysi  and  the  Windward  Passage. 
Thus,  if  Cervera  was  where  he  was  supposed  to 
be,  he  was  bound  to  be  discovered  before  many 
more  days  passed. 

"  Do  you  know  anything  about  Santiago  Bay  ?  " 
asked  Si  of  Walter.  "  I've  travelled  to  South 
America  and  Central  America,  but  I  never  stopped 
anywhere  in  Cuba." 

"  I  know  only  what  the  geographies  teach," 
answered  Walter.  "  It  is  on  the  south  side  of 
Cuba,  a  hundred  and  some  odd  miles  from  the 
eastern  end  of  the  island.  It  is  said  to  be  a  very 
pretty  harbor,  about  eight  miles  long  and  one  to 


FROM   CIEXFUEGOS   TO    SANTIAGO   BAY         183 

two  miles  wide.  Santiago,  which  is  the  next 
largest  Cuban  city  to  Havana,  is  located  on  the 
northeast  shore.  I  heard  Caleb  say  that  the  en 
trance  to  the  harbor  is  shaped  like  the  neck  of  a 
crooked  bottle,  and  that  on  the  eastern  side  there 
is  a  strong  fortress  called  Morro  Castle,  and 
opposite  to  it  a  heavy  concealed  battery  called  La 
Zocapa.  Somehow,  it's  in  my  mind  that  we'll  see 
a  good  deal  of  the  harbor  before  we  come  away," 
concluded  the  boy. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE   FINDING    OF    ADMIRAL   CERVERA'S    FLEET 

"WELL,  this  doesn't  look  much  like  fighting." 

It  was  Paul  who  uttered  the  remark.  The 
youngest  member  of  the  gunners'  crowd  rested 
in  the  shadow  of  one  of  the  long  guns,  half  asleep. 
Near  by  sat  Walter  and  Si,  each  writing  letters, 
although  there  was  no  telling  when  the  communi 
cations  would  be  taken  from  the  Brooklyn  and 
sent  home.  At  Key  West  Walter  had  looked  for 
some  word  from  Ben  and  from  Job  Bowling,  but 
none  had  come. 

"  I'd  like  to  know  if  my  uncle  went  to  Boston, 
and  if  he  learned  anything  concerning  that  Deck 
Mumpers  and  the  stolen  heirlooms,"  Walter  ob 
served  to  Si,  after  nodding  to  Paul,  in  agreement 
that  it  didn't  look  like  fighting. 

"  Well,  you'll  have  to  possess  }^our  soul  in  pa 
tience,"  answered  the  young  Yankee.  "  But  oh, 
this  is  dead  slow  !  "  And  thrusting  his  letter  into 
an  envelope,  he  addressed  it  and  laid  it  away. 

184 


THE   FINDING    OF    ADMIRAL   CERVERA's    FLEET      185 

Several  days  had  been  spent  around  the  mouth 
of  Santiago  Bay,  without  anything  being  brought 
to  light.  If  the  Spanish  fleet  was  within  the 
harbor,  it  knew  enough  to  keep  out  of  sight,  that 
was  certain. 

"  If  I  was  Commodore  Schley,  I'd  rush  past  old 
Morro  and  make  short  work  of  this,"  grumbled 
Paul,  stretching  himself  and  yawning.  "  Why, 
we'll  all  die  of  laziness  if  this  keeps  on." 

"  I  hear  the  Merrimac  has  broken  down,"  put  in 
Caleb,  who  had  just  come  below.  "  That  means 
another  wait  of  twenty-four  hours  or  more,  even 
if  Cervera  isn't  in  the  harbor.  Why  under  the 
sun  must  those  dagos  play  such  a  game  of  hide- 
and-seek  ?  Why  can't  they  come  up  and  fight  like 
men  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  Admiral  Cervera  is  bombarding  some 
of  our  cities  at  this  very  moment—  "  began  Si, 
when  a  sudden  loud  hurrah  caused  all  hands  to 
leap  up  and  make  for  the  deck. 

"  What's  up  ? "  came  from  a  hundred  throats. 

"  The  Iowa  has  just  signalled  that  she  has  seen  a 
big  Spanish  warship  showing  her  nose  around  the 
harbor  point  ! "  was  the  wild  answer.  "  We've 
found  the  Dons  at  last !  " 


186  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

And  then  came  another  hurrah  and  a  wild  yell. 
"  Let  us  get  at  'em  !  Down  with  the  Spaniards  ! 
Remember  the  Maine  and  Dewey's  victory  at 
Manila  !  " 

Commodore  Schley  was  on  the  afterbridge  of  the 
flagship.  As  the  yelling  broke  loose,  he  smiled 
grimly.  "  Yes,  they  must  be  in  there,"  he  said  to 
Captain  Cook.  "  And  if  they  are,  they'll  never  get 
home."  Prophetic  words,  as  the  events  of  just  five 
weeks  later  proved. 

Owing  to  the  heavy  swells  of  the  ocean,  the  war 
ships  under  the  commodore's  command  had  drifted 
somewhat  apart,  but  now,  when  it  was  known  defi 
nitely  that  Admiral  Cervera's  ships  were  in  the 
harbor  before  them,  the  various  craft  were  signalled 
to  draw  closer,  until  they  lay  within  four  to  six 
miles  of  the  entrance.  This  may  seem  a  long  way 
off  to  some  of  my  readers,  but  it  must  be  remem 
bered  that  guns  of  the  present  day  can  carry  as 
far  as  ten  to  twelve  miles  when  put  to  it,  and  a 
destructive  fire  can  be  maintained  at  seven  or  eight 
miles. 

The  night  that  followed  was  a  trying  one,  for  no 
one  knew  but  that  Admiral  Cervera's  warships 
might  come  dashing  out  of  the  bay  at  any  instant 


THE   FINDING    OF    ADMIRAL    CERVERA'S    FLEET      187 

ready  to  do  them  deadly  battle.  The  Brooklyn  had 
long  since  been  stripped  for  action,  many  articles 
of  wood  being  thrown  overboard,  to  avoid  splinters 
when  shot  and  shell  began  to  fall.  The  small 
boats  were  covered  with  strong  nets,  also  to  keep 
splinters  away,  and  everywhere  throughout  the  ship 
the  hoses  were  connected  with  the  water-plugs,  to 
be  used  in  case  of  fire,  and  all  water-tubs  were 
kept  filled  for  a  like  purpose.  The  magazines  were 
kept  open,  and  every  gun,  big  and  little,  stood 
ready  to  be  fired  at  the  word  of  command.  Even 
the  ward-room  tables  were  cleared  off  and  covered 
with  the  sick-bay  cloths,  and  the  surgeons  saw  to 
it  in  a  quiet  way  that  their  bandages,  knives,  and 
saws  were  ready  to  hand. 

"  Say,  but  that  looks  like  war,  eh  ?  "  whispered 
Paul,  jerking  his  thumb  in  the  direction  of  one  of 
the  improvised  operating  tables.  .  "  Gracious,  it's 
enough  to  give  a  fellow  a  cold  shiver." 

"Then  don't  look  that  way,  Paul,"  answered 
Walter.  "  As  Si  said,  life  here  isn't  expected  to  be 
a  picnic.  We  may  gain  lots  of  glory,  but  we'll 
have  to  work  for  it,  —  and  maybe  suffer,  too." 

It  was  the  30th  of  May,  Decoration  Day,  but  no 
services  of  a  special  character  were  had,  although 


188  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

the  Civil  War  was  talked  of  by  a  dozen  veterans 
of  both  the  North  and  the  South,  who  were  now 
standing  once  more  shoulder  to  shoulder,  as  Wash 
ington,  Jefferson,  and  a  hundred  other  patriots  of 
old  had  intended  that  they  should  stand,  once  and 
forever.  "  We're  under  the  stars  and  stripes  to 
stay,"  said  one  man  who  had  worn  the  gray  at 
Gettysburg.  "  Just  let  those  Dons  show  themselves, 
and  we'll  lick  'em  out  of  their  boots."  The  man's 
name  was  Berkeley,  and  he  was  as  good  a  soldier 
as  he  was  a  sailor,  and  wore  both  Union  and  Con 
federate  medals  for  bravery. 

Walter  had  just  fallen  into  a  light  doze  early  in 
the  morning  when  a  dull  booming  awoke  him  with 
a  start,  and  made  him  leap  to  his  feet.  "  What  is 
that  —  guns  firing  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  That's  it,  lad,"  came  from  Caleb.  "  The  com 
modore  is  giving  his  defiance  to  the  enemy,  I 
reckon.  There  she  goes  again,"  he  went  on,  as 
half  a  dozen  sullen  reports  rolled  over  the  water. 
"  I  just  wish  we  were  in  this." 

A  Spanish  warship,  the  Christobal  Colon,  had 
again  showed  herself  at  the  entrance  to  Santiago 
Bay,  and  the  loiva,  the  Massachusetts,  and  the  New 
Orleans,  had  been  ordered  to  move  to  within  seven 


THE   FINDING    OF    ADMIRAL    CERVERA'S   FLEET      189 

thousand  yards  and  open  fire.  Away  they  darted, 
and  passed  and  re-passed  the  harbor  entrance  twice, 
firing  as  they  sailed.  What  damage  was  done  it  was 
impossible  to  tell,  but  that  the  Colon  was  hit  seemed 
very  probable,  for  she  soon  disappeared.  The  shore 
batteries  also  took  part,  and  sent  one  big  shell 
directly  over  the  loiva,  where  it  burst  with  a  noise 
that  was  deafening,  but  without  doing  any  damage. 

"  Gracious  !  what  a  racket  !  "  exclaimed  Walter, 
as  he  watched  the  bombardment  from  afar. 

"  Racket  !  "  repeated  Caleb,  who  stood  beside 
him.  "  Why,  lad,  this  is  nothing  to  what  we'll 
have  when  we  get  mixed  up.  I  only  hope  the 
commodore  signals  us  to  line  up  for  the  scrap," 
he  went  on,  for  Commodore  Schley  had  left  the 
Brooklyn  temporarily,  and  hoisted  his  pennant  on 
the  Massachusetts .  But  the  signal  did  not  come, 
much  to  the  old  gunner's  disappointment. 

By  dark  the  bombardment  was  at  an  end.  It 
had  been  brought  about  by  the  commodore  with 
the  view  to  ascertain  the  strength  of  the  enemy, 
his  ability  to  shoot  straight,  and  the  number  and 
location  of  the  shore  batteries.  Now  this  informa 
tion  was  gained,  and  it  was  likely  to  be  of  great 
value  in  the  near  future. 


190  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

It  had  been  decided,  should  Admiral  Cervera's 
fleet  be  discovered  in  Santiago  Bay,  that  Commo 
dore  Schley  should  unload  the  collier  Merrimac  as 
quickly  as  possible,  and  then  sink  the  craft  directly 
across  the  channel  at  the  narrow  entrance.  If  this 
was  accomplished,  it  would  make  it  impossible  for 
the  Spanish  warships  to  escape  until  the  sunken 
wreck  was  blown  up  and  cleared  away,  and  in 
the  meantime  several  other  available  American 
vessels  could  be  hurried  to  the  scene  of  action.  A 
number  of  spies  had  been  sent  ashore,  and  at  last 
the  commodore  was  positive  that  the  enemy  was  just 
where  he  wanted  him.  "  And  now  we'll  sink  the 
Merrimac,  and  bottle  him  up,"  he  said. 

The  Merrimac  was  an  iron  steamboat  of  five 
thousand  tons'  burden.  She  had  previously  been  a 
"  tramp  "  steamer ;  that  is,  one  going  from  port  to 
port,  picking  up  any  cargo  that  came  to  hand.  She 
carried  a  large  quantity  of  coal  for  the  various 
ships,  and,  as  we  already  know,  had  followed  the 
Flying  Squadron  from  Key  West  to  Cienfuegos 
and  the  present  ocean  territory.  She  was  a  heav 
ily  built  craft,  carrying  two  masts,  and  just  the 
right  sort  for  the  plan  now  at  hand. 

A  heavy  salute   on   the  morning  of  June  1  an- 


THE   FINDING    OF   ADMIRAL   CEKVEIiA's   FLEET      191 

nounced  the  coming  of  Admiral  Sampson  with  a 
number  of  additional  warships,  —  the  New  York, 
Oregon,  Mayflower,  Porter,  and  others.  The  New 
York,  it  may  be  added  here,  was  a  cruiser,  similar  to 
the  Brooklyn,  only  somewhat  smaller.  The  Oregon 
was  a  battleship  of  the  first  class,  of  over  ten  thousand 
tons'  displacement,  and  carried  four  13-inch,  eight 
8-inch,  and  four  6-inch  guns  in  her  main  battery, 
over  twenty  guns  in  her  secondary  battery,  besides 
several  Gatling  guns  and  three  torpedo  tubes. 
This  noble  vessel  had  just  made  a  record  for  her 
self  by  steaming,  at  full  speed,  from  San  Francisco, 
around  Cape  Horn,  to  our  eastern  coast,  without  a 
break-down,  —  a  journey  without  precedent  for  a 
heavy  battleship,  so  far  as  our  own  navy  was  con 
cerned.  In  the  past,  foreign  critics  had  imagined 
that  our  vessels  were  not  quite  as  good  as  theirs 
in  thoroughness  of  build  ;  now  these  critics  were 
silenced,  and  they  stood  looking  on,  and  wondering 
what  those  "  clever  Yankees  "  would  do  next. 

The  Merrimac  had  been  under  the  command  of 
Captain  James  Miller,  but  now  she  was  eased  of  a 
large  quantity  of  her  coal,  and  turned  over  to 
Lieutenant  Richmond  P.  Hobson,  an  assistant 
naval  constructor.  Hobson  had  his  plans  ar- 


192  FIGHTING   IX   CUBAN    WATERS 

ranged  in  detail  for  sinking  the  Merrimac,  and 
all  he  asked  for  was  a  crew  of  six  or  seven  men, 
to  aid  him  in  running  the  collier  into  the  harbor 
channel.  "  I  know  it  looks  like  certain  death  to 
go  in,"  he  said,  "  and  therefore  I  want  only  vol 
unteers  with  me." 

"  You  can  get  them  easily  enough,"  said  Rear- 
Admiral  Sampson,  with  a  smile.  "  I  know  a  hun 
dred  men  on  the  New  York  who  will  be  only  too 
anxious  to  go,  no  matter  how  dangerous  the  mis 
sion."  Volunteers  were  called  for,  and,  to  the 
credit  of  our  navy,  be  it  said,  that  the  crews  of 
the  different  ships  offered  themselves  almost  to  a 
man. 

"  We  can  die  only  once,"  said  one  old  gunner  ; 
"  take  me  !  " 

"  I'd  like  to  go,  captain,"  said  Caleb,  appealing 
to  Captain  Cook.  "•  Can't  you  put  me  on  the  list 
somehow?  " 

"  I'll  go,"  said  Walter,  readily,  and  Si  said  the 
same.  Paul  was  so  young  that  he  knew  they  would 
not  take  him. 

Of  course  where  only  seven  men  were  wanted 
and  hundreds  had  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go 
there  were  numerous  disappointments.  At  last 


THE    FINDING    OF    ADMIRAL   CERVERA'S    FLEET      193 

the  list  was  made  up  of  the  following  —  names 
to  be  remembered  by  every  patriotic  young  Ameri 
can:  Lieutenant  Hobson,  in  command;  O.  W. 
Deignan,  helmsman ;  G.  F.  Phillips,  engineer ; 
F.  Kelley,  fireman ;  J.  Murphy,  coxswain ;  G.  Cha- 
rette,  mine  batteries  ;  D.  Montague,  anchor  hand  ; 
It.  Clausen,  extra  wheelman.  The  men  were  all 
experienced  sailors,  and  fully  realized  the  extreme 
peril  which  awaited  them,  when  they  should  run 
the  Merrimac  in  directly  under  the  fire  of  Morro 
Castle  and  the  La  Zocapa  battery. 

A  start  was  made  late  on  Wednesday  night, 
the  Merrimac  cruising  up  and  down  before  the 
harbor  entrance,  trying  to  gain  a  favorable  oppor 
tunity  for  entering.  But  none  showed  itself,  and 
by  orders  of  the  rear-admiral  the  attempt  was  post 
poned  until  the  night  following.  In  the  mean 
time  a  catamaran  was  built  and  attached  to  the 
Merrimac  s  side,  to  be  used  in  getting  away  in  case 
the  small  boats  became  disabled  when  the  craft  was 
wrecked. 


CHAPTER   XVII 

IX  WHICH   THE   "  MEKKIMAC  "   IS   SUNK 

"!T'S  too  bad  we  can't  get  places  on  the  Merri- 
mac,"  observed  Walter  to  Si,  as  the  two  walked 
to  their  quarters  after  the  selection  of  men  had 
been  made.  "  If  Lieutenant  Hobson  succeeds  in 
getting  the  collier  up  in  the  harbor  entrance  and 
sinking  her,  it  will  be  a  big  feather  in  his  cap." 

"My  idea  is  that  the  heavy  guns  of  old  Morro 
will  blow  the  Merrimac  clean  out  of  the  water 
before  she  gets  within  quarter  of  a  mile  of  where 
she  is  to  be  sunk,"  answered  the  Yankee  lad. 
"  Those  on  board  are  running  the  greatest  risk  of 
their  lives." 

"  But  the  glory,  Si !  " 

"No  glory  if  you're  killed." 

"  But  you  said  you  would  go." 

"  So  I  would  —  but  I  wouldn't  expect  to  come 
back  alive.  I'll  wager  we  never  see  Hobson  again, 
nor  none  of  his  men." 

The  fierce  heat  of  the  day  had  given  Walter  a 
194 


IN    WHICH   THE   "  MEERIMAC  "    IS   SUNK       195 

headache.  As  evening  came  on  it  grew  worse, 
and  he  was  not  able  to  sleep  during  the  night. 

"  I  hope  I'm  not  getting  the  Cuban  fever,"  he 
remarked  to  Caleb,  who  had  offered  several  simple 
remedies  ready  at  hand. 

"  Better  report  and  go  on  the  sick  list,"  advised 
the  old  gunner.  "  If  it's  fever,  the  sooner  you 
take  it  in  hand  the  better." 

At  first  Walter  demurred,  but  finally,  as  the 
ache  in  his  head  began  to  creep  all  over  him,  he 
reported  to  one  of  the  surgeons.  "  I  don't  want 
to  go  into  the  sick  bay,"  he  said,  "  but  I  wish  you 
would  give  me  something." 

"Yes,  you  need  something,"  was  the  answer. 
"  We  don't  want  any  men  to  get  down  so  soon. 
We  may  have  to  stay  on  the  blockade  here  for 
some  time,  if  Cervera  refuses  to  come  out  and 
fight  us." 

"  Or  we  block  him  in  with  the  wreck  of  the 
Merrimac,"  said  Walter,  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  only  a  temporary  check,  to 
give  Admiral  Sampson  time  to  get  his  fleet  into 
shape  and  give  the  army  authorities  time  to  send 
on  an  army  of  invasion.  The  army  is  already 
gathering  at  Tampa,"  replied  the  surgeon. 


196  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

The  medicine  was  forthcoming,  and  Walter  was 
at  once  given  a  big  dose  and  told  to  repeat  every 
two  hours.  "It  has  quinine  in  it  and  will  make 
your  ears  ring  and  your  head  buzz,  but  that  won't 
hurt  you,"  said  the  surgeon.  "  If  you  feel  worse 
by  to-morrow  morning,  report  to  me  again." 

This  was  at  eight  o'clock.  By  noon  Walter 
felt  as  if  a  buzz  saw  was  in  full  operation  in  his 
head,  while  he  could  not  hear  at  all.  But  he  con 
tinued  to  take  the  medicine,  and  rested  in  a  ham 
mock  slung  up  in  the  coolest  spot  to  be  found 
between  decks. 

"  Oh  dear !  "  he  murmured,  when  left  alone. 
"  How  my  head  does  spin  around  !  If  I  get  very 
sick,  whatever  will  become  of  me?  "  And  he  buried 
his  face  in  his  jacket  sleeve,  to  suppress  a  groan 
that  was  bound  to  come. 

By  nightfall  he  was  worse,  if  anything,  and 
both  Caleb  and  Si  advised  him  to  go  into  the 
sick  bay  for  further  treatment.  But  he  shook  his 
head.  "  No,  I  reckon  I  can  stand  it  till  morn 
ing,"  he  said.  "There  may  be  a  turn  for  the 
better  by  that  time." 

Midnight  found  him  on  deck,  under  the  impres 
sion  that  the  fresh  night  air  would  do  him  some 


IN    WHICH   THE    "  MERRIMAC  "    IS    SUNK        197 

good.  To  tell  the  truth,  he  was  hardly  respon 
sible  for  what  he  was  doing,  for  his  head  was  in 
a  worse  whirl  than  at  any  time  previous.  He 
staggered  to  the  side  and  leaned  over.  The  war 
ship  rose  and  fell  on  the  bosom  of  the  ocean,  and 
the  water  danced  and  twinkled  before  his  eyes. 
Nobody  was  near  him. 

How  it  all  happened  he  could  never  tell  after 
ward.  He  must  have  leaned  over  too  far,  or 
slipped,  for  suddenly  he  seemed  to  awake  as  by  a 
shock,  and  felt  himself  going  down  and  down  into 
the  greenish  element  which  washed  up  against 
the  Brooklyn  s  sides.  He  tried  to  scream,  but 
his  mouth  filled  with  water  and  he  could-  only 
splutter. 

When  at  length  he  arose  to  the  surface,  the 
waves  had  carried  him  a  hundred  feet  away  from 
the  ship.  He  tried  to  cry  out,  but  he  was  too 
weak  to  utter  more  than  a  whisper.  He  threw 
out  his  hands  and  began  to  swim  in  a  mechanical 
way.  But  instead  of  carrying  him  back  whence 
he  had  corne,  the  mighty  waves  lifted  'him  closer 
and  closer  to  shore. 

Ten  minutes  had  passed,  and  Walter  felt  that 
he  could  keep  up  no  longer,  when  he  came  into 


FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

contact  with  a  large  box  which  had  at  one  time 
been  filled  with  naval  stores,  but  which,  on  being 
emptied,  had  been  thrown  overboard  from  one  of 
the  warships.  The  box  was  over  four  feet  in 
length  and  built  of  heavy  slatting,  and  afforded  a 
fair  degree  of  buoyancy.  Lying  across  the  top  of 
the  receptacle  he  floated  on,  wondering  in  a  be 
wildered  way  how  this  strange  adventure  was 
going  to  end. 

"  If   only  I    could   get  to  one  of   our  ships,"  he 
thought.      "  If    I    don't,    I   must    either    drown    or 
else   be   cast   up   on   the    coast,  in  which   case   the 
Spaniards   will   most   likely   capture    me.       If   I- 
Oh,  there  is  a  ship  now !  " 

Walter  was  right ;  a  two-masted  vessel  was  bear 
ing  directly  down  upon  him.  The  vessel  carried 
no  lights  and  moved  along  as  silently  as  a  ghost. 

"  I'll  be  run  down !  "  was  the  boy's  agonizing 
thought,  when,  on  coming  within  a  few  hundred 
feet,  the  craft  began  to  turn  in  a  small  circle. 
Then,  when  halfway  around,  her  engines  came  to 
a  stop  and  she  drifted  idly  on  the  waves. 

A  chain  was  dangling  from  the  vessel's  stern. 
It  was  but  three  yards  away,  and  making  a 
frantic  leap  Walter  clutched  it  and  hung  fast. 


IN    WHICH    THE    "  MERRIMAC  "    IS    SUNK        199 

Scarcely  had  this  been  accomplished  than  the 
steamer  moved  off  again,  dragging  him  behind 
her. 

In  his  weak  state  it  is  a  wonder  that  Walter 
was  not  compelled  to  relinquish  his  hold ;  but  life 
is  sweet  to  us  all,  and  he  hung  on  grimly,  and 
setting  his  teeth,  began  to  climb  up  the  chain 
hand  over  hand.  In  a  few  minutes  he  reached 
the  taffrail,  fell,  rather  than  climbed,  over,  and 
dropped  unconscious  on  the  deck. 

How  long  he  lay  in  this  state  Walter  did  not 
know.  He  came  to  his  senses  to  find  himself  being 
shaken  by  somebody  bending  over  him. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  ? "  was  the  rough 
demand.  "  Don't  you  know  that  all  of  the  regular 
crew  were  ordered  off  at  three  o'clock  ? " 

"  1  —  I  —  where  am  I  ?  "  stammered  Walter,  sit 
ting  up. 

"Where  are  you?     Don't  you  know?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  You're  on  board  of  the  Merrimac" 

"The  Merrimac!"  echoed  the  boy,  and  attempted 
to  rise  to  his  feet.  He  was  still  very  weak,  but 
otherwise  his  involuntary  bath  had  done  him  much 
good. 


200  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Exactly  ;  the  Merrimac.  How  dare  you  remain 
on  board  against  orders  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  remain  on  board.  I  —  I  fell  off  of  my 
own  ship,  the  Brooklyn,  and  came  near  drowning, 
when  this  vessel  came  along  and  I  managed  to 
catch  hold  of  a  chain  that  is  dragging  over  the 
taffrail.  I  climbed  up  and  then  —  then  I  don't 
remember  anything  more." 

"Humph!  that's  a  likely  story.  How  did  you 
happen  to  fall  overboard?"  went  on  the  man,  who 
was  one  of  the  volunteers  on  this  never-to-be-for 
gotten  expedition. 

In  a  few  words  Walter  told  him.  By  this  time 
the  youth  felt  stronger,  and  got  up  011  his  feet. 
"  I  hope  I  shan't  be  in  the  way,"  he  said,  as  he 
concluded. 

"You  had  better  keep  out  of  the  way,"  was  the 
grim  return.  "  Come  forward,  and  I'll  report  the 
matter  to  Lieutenant  Hobson.  If  you  have  to  go 
in  with  us,  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  strip 
off  your  clothing,  and  buckle  a  life  preserver 
around  you  —  just  as  the  rest  of  us  have  done. 
Of  course  if  you  were  on  the  Brooklyn  you  know 
what  we  intend  to  do,  and  let  me  tell  you  we've 
some  mighty  hot  work  ahead  of  us."  And  throw- 


IN    WHICH   THE    "  MERRIMAC  "    IS    SUNK        201 

ing  him  a  life  preserver,  the  man  stalked  off,  leaving 
Walter  standing  on  the  forward  deck  of  the  col 
lier  in  the  darkness. 

It  was  a  little  after  three  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing,  and  the  Merrimac  was  headed  north-northeast, 
directly  for  the  harbor  entrance.  From  far  ahead 
shone  a  Spanish  flashlight,  located  on  a  hill,  and 
by  steering  for  this,  Lieutenant  Hobson  knew  the 
craft  would  be  taken  just  where  he  wanted  her. 

Walter  was  but  lightly  attired,  and  without 
stripping  off  any  more  clothing  he  placed  the  life 
preserver  around  him,  under  the  arms.  "  When 
the  Merrimac  goes  down,  we  may  not  even  have 
the  catamaran  to  fall  back  on,"  he  thought. 

Boom  !  It  was  the  report  of  one  of  the  Spanish 
guns  on  shore,  and  a  heavy  shot  whizzed  over  the 
bridge  of  the  Merrimac,  where  Lieutenant  Hobson 
and  the  helmsman  were  standing,  and  fell  into  the 
waves  on  the  starboard  side.  The  aim  was  so 
close  that  the  wind  from  the  shot  carried  off  the 
helmsman's  cap ! 

Other  shots  soon  followed,  and  in  the  excitement 
of  the  moment  Walter's  presence  on  board  was 
forgotten.  The  Merrimac  was  now  running  at  a 
tremendous  rate  of  speed,  her  fires  roaring  fiercely 


202  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

and  her  boilers  threatening  to  burst  at  any  instant. 
Quivering  from  stem  to  stern  under  such  high  press 
ure,  she  shot  into  the  harbor  entrance  and  straight 
for  the  narrowest  part  of  the  channel.  By  this 
time  the  Spanish  guns  from  all  sides  were  sending 
down  on  her  a  shower  of  shot  and  shell,  awful  to 
contemplate.  Seeing  he  could  do  nothing,  Walter 
ran  for  the  shelter  of  one  of  the  companionways. 

"  Put  the  wheel  hard  a-port  !  "  came  the  order 
from  the  bold  commander,  who,  if  he  was  excited 
did  not  show  it.  "  Lively  now  !  " 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir !  "  came  from  the  helmsman,  and 
the  wheel  went  over,  and  was  lashed  fast. 

"  She  isn't  coming  over ! "  came  another  cry, 
a  moment  later,  and  while  shot  and  shell  were  fly 
ing,  in  all  directions. 

"What's  the  matter  there?  Charette,  go  down 
and  look  at  the  steering  gear." 

At  once  Charette  ran  off  at  his  best  speed.  He 
was  gone  but  a  moment,  and  came  back  all  out  of 
breath. 

"  One  of  the  rudder  chains  has  been  shot  away, 
sir,"  he  reported. 

"Shot  away!"  came  from  several.  "That's 
bad." 


IIST    WHICH    THE    "  MEEUIMAC  "    IS    SUNK        203 

To  tliis  Hobson  did  not  answer,  but  instantly 
ordered  the  engines  stopped.  "  And  open  the 
sea- valves  and  come  up,"  lie  added.  "  There  is 
not  a  minute  to  lose  now,  lads,  if  we  want  to 
sink  her  and  escape  alive." 

Morro  Castle  and  the  battery  opposite  had  here 
tofore  been  firing  alone,  but  now  came  shots  from 
Smith  Cay,  up  the  harbor,  and  from  a  Spanish 
warship  which  was  bearing  down  upon  the  scene. 

"  We  must  fire  the  mines  now  !  "  Walter  heard 
somebody  say.  "  Fire  them  as  closely  together 
as  possible,  and  then  make  for  the  starboard  side 
amidships." 

This  order  had  scarcely  been  given  when  the 
wires  attached  to  the  mines  were  touched  off.  A 
sullen  roar  from  beneath  the  Merrimac  followed, 
and  the  vessel  was  thrown  high  up  in  the  air, 
while  great  columns  of  water  spouted  up  on  every 
side.  Then  slowly  but  surely  the  collier  began 
to  sink. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

WALTER'S  ADVENTURE  ox  SHORE 

ALTHOUGH  the  Merrimac  had  been  blown  up 
and  was  sinking,  the  Spaniards  continued  to  fire 
upon  her  without  interruption,  and  as  before,  the 
air  was  filled  with  solid  shot,  bursting  shells,  and 
the  whistling  of  leaden  messengers  from  rapid- 
firing  rifles. 

The  order  to  gather  at  the  starboard  was  a  wise 
one,  for  this  spot  was  the  best  protected  on  the 
deck,  as  the  port  side  was  settling  rapidly.  To 
take  to  a  small  boat  or  the  catamaran  would  have 
been  the  height  of  foolishness,  for  a  strong  search 
light  was  being  thrown  on  the  scene,  and  the  men 
would  have  been  picked  off  by  the  Spanish  gun 
ners  at  will. 

With  the  others  Walter  rushed  to  starboard 
and  found  a  hiding-place  close  to  the  rail.  "I 
wonder  what  will  happen  next,"  he  muttered. 
He  was  certain  that  something  would  take  place 

204 


WITH  A  FINAL  LURCH  THE  MERRIMAC  WENT  DOWN. 

Page  205 


WALTER'S  ADVENTURE  ox  SHORE          205 

very  soon,  for  the  waves  of  the  harbor  channel  were 
already  rolling  over  a  portion  of  the  Merrimac's 
deck. 

A  few  anxious  minutes  passed,  when  suddenly 
the  doomed  collier  gave  a  heavy  list  to  starboard, 
and  Walter  found  himself  sliding  along  the  rail 
and  unable  to  stop  himself. 

"Hold  on  ! "  shouted  somebody.  "Who  is  that?  " 
Still  weak,  and  with  the  flying  spray  drenching 
his  face,  Walter  could  not  answer,  and  in  a  second 
more  the  questioner  had  disappeared  amid  the 
gloom,  smoke,  and  flying  water.  Again  came  a 
lurch  of  the  collier,  and  Walter  was  hurled  flat 
and  sent  spinning  against  the  smoke-stack.  As 
he  arose  he  saw  Lieutenant  Hobson  and  his  men 
climbing  over  the  starboard  rail.  Realizing,  even 
in  his  bewildered  state  of  mind,  that  he  could  not 
do  better  than  to  follow  them,  he,,  too,  made  for 
the  rail,  going  over  at  one  point  as  the  courageous 
commander  of  the  expedition  went  over  at  another. 
The  crew  were  swimming  for  the  catamaran,  which 
had  been  shoved  off  from  the  Merrimacs  side, 
and  Walter  came  after  them.  Hardly  had  the 
catamaran  been  gained,  than,  with  a  final  lurch 
and  quiver,  the  Merrimac  went  down,  partly  across 


200  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

the  narrow  channel,  but  not  exactly  in  the  position 
in  which  she  would  have  been  placed  had  not  the 
rudder  chain  been  shot  away. 

As  the  craft  sank,  a  yell  came  from  the  Spanish 
battery  nearest  at  hand,  the  gunners  thinking  they 
had  sunk  an  American  man-o'-war  and  not  dream 
ing  that  the  sinking  had  been  done  by  those  on 
board  and  purposely.  But  none  of  the  Americans 
paid  any  attention  to  these  cries,  all  thinking  only 
of  escape,  now  the  work  of  the  night  was  over. 

A  steam  launch  under  the  command  of  Ensign 
Joseph  Powell  had  been  moving  up  and  down 
the  harbor  waiting  for  a  chance  to  pick  Hobson 
and  his  men  up.  But  a  Spanish  picket  boat  lay 
between  those  on  the  catamaran  and  the  launch, 
so  escape  in  this  direction  was  now  cut  off. 

The  float  was  still  attached  by  a  long  rope  to 
the  wreck  of  the  Merrimac,  and  the  men  were  now 
ordered  to  remain  where  they  were,  clinging  to 
the  catamaran  with  only  their  heads  showing  above 
water.  "  If  you  try  to  swim  away,  the  Spanish 
sharpshooters  will  pick  you  off  as  quick  as  a  wink," 
was  the  word  passed  around. 

Thus  cautioned,  all  the  brave  crew  remained 
where  they  were  until  daylight  began  to  show 


WALTER'S  ADVENTURE  ON  SHORE         207 

itself.  Then  a  large  launch  steamed  up,  carrying 
several  oarsmen,  half  a  dozen  sharpshooters,  and 
Admiral  Cervera  himself. 

"  Do  you  surrender  ? "  came  in  Spanish,  while 
every  sailor  on  the  catamaran  was  carefully 
covered. 

"  We  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war,"  was  Lieu 
tenant  Ilobson's  reply,  and  then  he  and  his  men 
were  ordered  to  swim  to  the  launch  one  at  a  time 
and  give  up  their  arms,  if  they  had  any.  This 
was  done,  and  the  steam  launch  returned  to  the 
Reina  Mercedes,  one  of  the  Spanish  warships. 
Later  on,  Hobson  and  his  men  were  sent  ashore 
under  a  strong  guard,  marched  up  a  hill  to  Morro 
Castle,  and  turned  over  to  General  Toral,  the 
military  governor  of  Santiago  Province. 

When  he  made  the  leap  for  the  catamaran 
Walter  was  not  as  fortunate  as  those  around  him. 
lie  entered  the  water  close  to  the  Merrimac,  and 
when  the  great  collier  sank,  the  suction  drew  him 
under,  and  lie  went  so  far  down  that  he  fancied 
he  would  never  come  up.  His  breath  was  gone, 
a  gulp  partly  filled  him  with  water,  and  when  at 
last  the  surface  of  the  bay  was  again  reached  lie 
came  up  more  dead  than  alive. 


208  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

He  set  out  to  swim  instinctively,  the  life  pre 
server  holding  him  up,  although  it  had  not  been 
light  enough  to  counteract  the  suction  of  the 
sinking  ship.  Where  he  was  going  he  did  not 
know,  for  the  glare  of  the  searchlight  and  the 
splashing  of  shots  on  the  water  was  perfectly 
bewildering.  "  I'm  lost !  "  he  thought  a  dozen 
times.  "  O  God,  help  me  to  get  out  alive  !  "  And 
that  prayer  was  answered,  for  presently  his  foot 
touched  bottom  and  he  saw  land  ahead,  —  a  bit  of 
sandy  beach  between  Morro  Castle  and  a  battery 
located  on  Estrella  Cove,  for  the  tide  was  coming 
in,  and  had  carried  him  up  the  harbor  instead  of 
down. 

As  Walter  waded  out  of  the  water  he  heard 
several  pickets  shouting  to  each  other  in  Spanish. 
Without  waiting  for  them  to  come  nearer,  he  dove 
out  of  sight  in  some  bushes  back  of  the  beach,  and 
then  started  to  walk  to  a  woods  still  further  inland. 

So  far,  the  intense  excitement  had  kept  him  up, 
but  now  came  the  reaction,  and  he  felt  as  sick  as 
he  had  while  on  the  Brooklyn.  His  head  began 
to  spin  and  strange  lights  flashed  before  his  eyes, 
while  chills  crept  up  and  down  his  backbone.  "  I 
reckon  I'm  in  for  a  spell  of  sickness,  whether  I 


WALTER'S  ADVENTUUE  ON  SHOKE          209 

escape  or  not,"  he  groaned,  and  reaching  the 
woods,  threw  himself  down  under  a  mahogany 
tree  to  rest. 

Walter  thought  he  could  not  sleep,  but  presently 
the  pain  became  less  and  he  sank  into  a  troubled 
slumber.  lie  roused  up  to  find  a  tall,  fine-looking 
negro  shaking  him.  As  soon  as  he  opened  his 
eyes,  the  negro  began  to  question  him  in  Spanish. 

"  I  can't  understand  you,"  said  the  youth,  and 
shook  his  head. 

"Americano,  mistair?"  questioned  the  negro,  and 
Walter  nodded.  "  You  come  from  big  fight, 
maybe?"  he  went  on,  brokenly. 

"  What  fight  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Fight  down  by  Morro  last  night.  Spanish 
sink  your  ship,  maybe,  not  so  ? "  And  the  negro 
laughed. 

"Our  men  did  the  sinking.  But  who  are  you? 
a  Spaniard  ?  " 

"No,  me  Cuban,  Carlos  Dunetta." 

"  My  name  is  Walter  Russell,  but  I  suppose  it 
might  be  Smith  for  all  the  difference  it  makes  to 
you,"  replied  Walter,  moodily.  '•'  What  do  you 
intend  to  do  ?  turn  me  over  to  the  Spanish 
authorities  ?  " 


210  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  To  de  Spanish  ?  No,  no !  "  Carlos  Dunetta 
leaned  forward.  "Cubalibre!  'Member  de  Maine! 
Not  so  ?  "  And  he  smiled  broadly. 

"  Now  you  are  talking  !  "  ejaculated  Walter,  joy 
fully.  "  You  are  an  insurgent,  I  suppose.  Do  you 
belong  to  General  Garcia's  troops  ?  " 

Again  the  negro  leaned  forward.  "  Carlos  Du 
netta  spy  for  de  general,"  he  whispered.  "  Come, 
want  to  get  away,  must  hurry  !  "  And  he  took 
hold  of  Walter's  arm. 

Their  course  was  directly  into  the  woods,  under 
broad  mahogany  and  grenadillo  trees,  and  over  rough 
rocks  overgrown  with  rank  vines.  Insects  and  bugs 
were  numerous  and  spider-webs  hung  everywhere. 

"Udder  men  all  caught  and  taken  to  prison," 
said  the  Cuban  as  they  progressed.  "  I  hear  dat 
from  udder  spy." 

"  Well,  I'm  not  out  of  the  woods  yet,"  said 
Walter,  seriously. 

"  Woods  safe  place  in  daytime,"  answered  the 
negro,  not  catching  his  true  meaning. 

They  had  progressed  less  than  half  a  mile  when 
Walter  began  to  lag  behind.  "  I  can't  go  any 
farther,"  he  declared.  "I've  been  sick  and  I'm 
about  used  up." 


WALTER'S  ADVENTURE  ON  SHORE          211 

"Sick?     What  is  de  mattair  ?  " 

"I  don't  know — unless  it  is  malarial  fever." 

At  the  word  "fever"  Carlos  Dunetta  drew  down 
the  corners  of  his  broad  mouth.  "  Fever  ?  Dat 
is  worry  bad  —  Americano  canno  stand  dat.  Maybe 
I  best  carry  you  to  Josefina's  hut.  Josefina  she 
my  sistair.  She  take  care  of  you  if  so  you  be 
sick." 

The  tall  negro  took  Walter  upon  his  back  with 
ease  and  continued  on  his  way.  Presently  they 
reached  a  trail,  and  passing  along  this  for  the 
distance  of  a  hundred  yards,  came  within  sight  of 
a  long,  low  hut,  thatched  with  palm. 

The  negro  gave  a  peculiar  whistle,  and  immedi 
ately  a  short,  fat  negro  wench  put  in  an  appearance, 
followed  by  a  man  of  twenty-five  or  thirty.  The 
man  was  fairly  well  dressed,  and  evidently  a  Cuban 
of  Spanish  descent. 

"  It  is  all  right,  Carlos  !  "  cried  the  wench. 
"This  is  Senor  Ramona." 

"  Senor  Ramona  !  "  exclaimed  the  negro,  and 
rushing  up  he  dropped  Walter  and  took  the  out 
stretched  hand  of  the  Cuban  gentleman.  A  long 
talk  in  Spanish,  followed,  of  which  Walter  under 
stood  hardly  a  word.  Yet  he  felt  certain  the  pair 


212  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

were  talking  about  the  American  warships  outside 
of  the  harbor,  the  blowing  up  of  the  Merrimac,  and 
about  himself.  Suddenly  the  negro  ran  back  to 
him,  at  the  same  time  calling  the  wench. 

"You  sick  —  I  forget,"  he  said.  "Come;  nice 
bed  here."  And  he  pointed  to  a  grass  hammock 
suspended  from  one  of  the  rear  corner  posts  of 
the  hut  to  a  near-by  tree.  "  You  lay  dare  ;  Josefina 
make  good  drink  for  you;  den  you  feel  bettair." 

Walter  was  glad  enough  to  accept  the  invita 
tion,  for  standing  unaided  was  now  out  of  the 
question.  As  soon  as  he  was  in  the  hammock  the 
negro  woman  ran  off  for  a  wet  bandage,  which  she 
tied  tightly  over  his  forehead. 

Carlos  Dunetta  evidently  had  an  important 
message  for  Senor  Ramona,  for  no  sooner  was  the 
talk  between  the  pair  at  an  end,  than  the  Cuban 
brought  out  a  horse  from  the  shelter  of  the  trees, 
and  dashed  down  the  trail  at  a  breakneck  speed. 

"  Me  watch,  warn  you  if  any  Spaniards  come," 
said  Carlos,  on  returning  to  Walter's  side.  "  You 
bettair  rest,  or  get  fever  werry  bad." 

"Do  you  suppose  there  is  any  hope  of  my  get 
ting  back  to  my  ship  ?  " 

"  De  ship  dat  blow  up  ?  " 


WALTER'S  ADVENTURE  ox  SHORE          213 

"  No,  a  big  warship  out  there,"  and  Walter 
waved  his  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  coast. 

At  this,  the  tall  negro  shrugged  his  shoulders. 
"  Carlos  can  take  you  to  de  shore  —  but  no  got 
boat.  Maybe  you  swim,  not  so  ?  " 

"  Well,  hardly,"  answered  Walter.  "  I  may  be 
a  pretty  good  swimmer,  but  four  or  five  miles  is 
too  much  for  any  man." 

The  negro  retired,  and  Walter  lay  back  watch 
ing  the  woman,  who  had  brought  out  several  bags 
filled  with  herbs.  Selecting  some  of  the  herbs, 
the  woman  steeped  them  in  water,  and  poured 
the  tea  into  an  earthen  bowl,  sweetening  the  con 
coction  with  sugarcane  ends.  Bringing  the  bowl 
to  Walter,  she  motioned  for  him  to  drink. 

The  youth  had  expected  an  unsavory  mess,  but 
he  found  the  tea  very  pleasant  to  the  taste,  and 
ten  minutes  after  he  had  taken  half  the  contents 
of  the  bowl  he  was  in  a  sound  slumber,  from 
which  he  did  not  awaken  until  nearly  nightfall. 
In  the  meantime  Josefina  removed  the  life  pre 
server  and  made  him  otherwise  as  comfortable  as 
possible,  proud  to  think  she  was  serving  un  Ame 
ricano  who  was  battling  against  the  enemies  of 
her  beloved  Cuba. 


214  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  You  had  bettair  come  into  de  house  now  — 
night  air  werry  bad  for  you,"  announced  Carlos, 
as  Walter  sat  up  in  the  hammock  and  stared 
around  him.  "  How  feel  now  ?  weak  ?  " 

"I  —  I  dreamed  I  was  back  on  the  Brooklyn 
and  sailing  for  home,"  was  the  hesitating  reply. 
"  My  head  feels  better,  but  I'm  afraid  my  legs 
have  gone  back  on  me,"  Walter  went  on,  as  on 
trying  to  stand  he  found  he  must  support  himself 
against  the  tree.  "This  is  the  queerest  spell  of 
sickness  I  ever  had." 

"Never  mind  —  if  only  so  be  dat  de  fever  is 
broken,"  said  Carlos,  seriously.  "  Come."  And 
he  about  carried  Walter  into  the  hut.  Usually 
negro  huts  in  Cuba  are  dirty  and  full  of  vermin, 
but  this  was  an  exception.  In  her  younger  days, 
Josefina  had  worked  for  a  titled  lady  of  Santiago, 
and  there  had  learned  cleanliness  quite  unusual  to 
those  of  her  standing.  In  a  corner  of  the  hut 
was  a  pile  of  fresh  sugarcane  husks  covered  with 
a  brown  spread,  and  to  this  she  motioned  Walter, 
and  here  he  rested  until  the  following  morning. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

CAKLOS,    THE    HEBEL   SPY 

"  WELL,  I'm  not  out  of  my  troubles  yet,  but  I 
suppose  I'm  better  off  than  those  fellows  who  were 
captured  and  taken  off  to  some  Spanish  dungeon." 

It  was  Walter  who  mused  thus,  as  he  sat  up 
and  rubbed  his  eyes.  The  herb  tea  Josefina  had 
made  for  him  had  "  touched  the  spot "  and  he  felt 
quite  like  himself  again.  The  native  Cubans  have 
to  fight  fevers  constantly,  and,  consequently,  know 
a  great  deal  about  proper  remedies. 

"Will  you  eat?"  questioned  Carlos,  who  sat  by, 
smoking  a  cigarette,  while  Josefina  busied  herself 
in  preparing  a  morning  meal  of  rice-cakes  and 
strong  coffee. 

"  I  haven't  much  appetite,  but  I  suppose  I 
ought  to  eat  if  I  want  to  get  back  my  strength. 
But  see  here,"  Walter  went  on.  "  I  can't  pay  you 
a  cent  for  what  you  are  doing  for  me,  for  I  have 
no  money  with  me." 

"  Dat's  all  right  •,  Josefina  and  me  no  want  pay 
215 


216  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

—  we  glad  to  do  for  you,"  answered  Carlos;  and 
Josefina  smiled  so  broadly  that  her  eyes  were 
fairly  closed. 

The  rice-cakes  were  well  done,  and  Walter  ate 
several  of  them,  and  also  sipped  at  the  heavy 
black  coffee,  sweetened  with  sugarcane  drippings. 
The  meal  over,  Carlos  leaped  up  and  lit  a  fresh 
cigarette. 

"You  stay  here  and  I  go  to  shore  —  see  if  you 
can  get  to  ship,"  he  said.  "If  Spaniards  come, 
Josefina  show  you  where  to  hide,  so  110  can  find 
you." 

"  I'll  have  to  stay,  for  I  can't  walk  the  distance 
to  the  shore  —  yet.  By  the  way,  where  am  I?" 

"Dis  place  back  of  Estrella,  'bout  halfway  to 
Aguadores,  on  the  Guama  River.  Can  see  war 
ships  from  mouth  of  Guama." 

"Yes,  I've  heard  of  the  Guama.  Some  of  the 
fellows  on  board  ship  said  we  might  capture  that 
point,  or  Guantanamo  Bay,  so  as  to  have  a  place 
to  coal  when  the  ocean  was  rough.  You  are 
going  to  the  shore?" 

"  If  Spanish  pickets  let  me,"  grinned  Carlos. 
"  Werry  strong  Spanish  guard  around  here  now. 
Werry  much  afraid  American  soldiers  come." 


CARLOS,   THE   REBEL  SPY  217 

"  Perhaps  they  will  come,  if  Sampson  needs 
help,"  replied  Walter,  but  without  knowing  that 
the  army  of  invasion  at  Tampa  was  already  pre 
paring  to  leave  for  Cuba,  and  his  own  brother 
Ben  with  it. 

After  Carlos  was  gone,  Walter  tried  to  carry  on 
a  conversation  with  Josefina,  but  as  the  wench's 
English  vocabulary  was  as  limited  as  was  the 
boy's  knowledge  of  Spanish,  the  talk  soon  lagged. 
'•'•Cuba  libre !  'Member  de  Maine!"  she  said  over 
and  over  again,  and  smiled  that  awful  smile  that 
almost  caused  Walter  to  burst  into  a  tit  of  laugh 
ter.  During  the  morning  she  made  him  some 
more  tea  and  insisted  upon  his  drinking  it,  greatly 
to  the  benefit  of  his  health  and  strength,  as  he 
soon  realized. 

It  was  growing  late  in  the  afternoon,  and 
Walter  was  wondering  when  Carlos  would  get 
back,  when  the  sound  of  a  rifle-shot  from  a  dis 
tance  startled  him.  Before  he  could  get  to  the 
doorway  of  the  hut,  Josefina  was  outside  and 
speeding  up  the  trail  in  the  direction  her  brother 
had  taken. 

"  Get  back  !  "  It  was  the  voice  of  Carlos,  and 
he  was  running  beside  his  sister,  who  kept  up  with 


218  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

him,  despite  her  weight.  "  The  Spaniards  are 
coming." 

"  Soldiers  ?  "  gasped  Walter. 

"  Yes  ;  ten  or  fifteen.  They  caught  me  going 
through  de  pickets,  but  I  knocked  one  so,  and 
anodder  so,  and  got  away.  Come  wid  me,  before 
da  catch  you  !  "  And  he  took  hold  of  Walter's 
arm  and  turned  him  to  the  back  of  the  hut. 

Wondering  what  would  happen  next,  but  re 
membering  what  had  been  said  about  a  hiding- 
place,  the  youth  followed  Carlos  to  the  rear  wall 
of  the  structure.  Here,  directly  against  the  logs, 
grew  a  tall  ebony  tree. 

"  Dat  tree  hollow,"  explained  the  Cuban.  "  CliAb 
to  limb  and  drop  inside.  Josefina  haul  us  out  when 
Spanish  go  'way."  And  he  gave  Walter  a  lift  up. 

The  lower  branches  were  but  twelve  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  were  easily  gained.  Carlos  came 
up  also.  "  Let  me  drop  first,"  he  said.  "  Den  you 
come  on  top  of  me.  Be  quick,  or  too  late  ! "  And 
down  he  went  into  darkness,  and  Walter  came 
after. 

The  hollow  portion  of  the  tree  was  not  over 
twenty  inches  in  diameter,  and  it  was  a  lucky 
thins:  for  both  inside  that  neither  was  stout  nor 


CARLOS,    THE    REBEL    SPY  219 

broad  of  shoulder.  As  it  was,  they  stood  breast 
to  breast  with  difficulty,  and  yet  not  daring  to 
make  a  sound. 

A  shout  came  from  the  trail,  sounding  in  strange 
contrast  to  the  song  Josefina  had  begun  to  sing 
—  an  old-fashioned  Cuban  ditty  about  a  sailor  and 
his  lass.  Soon  the  soldiers  drew  closer,  and  sev 
eral  came  around  to  the  side  of  the  hut. 

"  Ho  !  within  there  !  "  came  in  Spanish.  "Where 
is  that  wretch  we  are  after  ? " 

"  Wretch  !  "  answered  Josefina,  in  pretended  sur 
prise.  "  Whom  do  you  mean,  kind  sirs  ?  " 

"  You  know  well  enough  —  the  tall  fellow  who 
knocked  over  our  guards  and  ran  in  this  direction." 

"I  have  seen  nobody;  I  have  been  busy  washing," 
answered  Josefina,  pointing  to  a  few  articles  of 
wearing  apparel  which  lay  soaking  in  a  water-butt. 

"  You  cannot  humbug  us !  "  cried  the  leader  of 
the  Spanish  detachment,  in  a  fury.  "  Tell  me 
where  they  are,  or  I'll  run  you  through  !  "  And  he 
ran  at  Josefina  with  pointed  sword.  It  is  doubt 
ful  if  he  intended  to  carry  out  his  threat,  but  the 
wench  thought  him  in  earnest,  and  the  yell  she 
gave  would  have  done  credit  to  a  cannibal  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands. 


220  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN   WATERS 

The  cry  of  terror  from  his  sister  was  more  than 
Carlos  Dunetta  could  stand,  and  in  a  twinkle  he 
placed  his  hands  on  Walter's  shoulders,  shoved 
himself  upward,  and  showed  himself  at  the  top  of 
the  opening. 

"  Let  my  sister  alone,  you  dogs  !  "  he  burst  out. 
"  Let  her  alone  !  "  And  leaping  to  the  ground, 
he  made  after  the  Spaniard  with  a  drawn  machete, 
a  long  knife  used  in  the  sugarcane  fields  and  em 
ployed  by  the  insurgents  as  a  favorite  weapon. 

There  was  a  cry  of  alarm,  and  then  came  two 
shots  in  quick  succession,  followed  by  a  fall  close 
to  the  foot  of  the  tree. 

"  You  have  killed  my  brother  !  "  shrieked  Jose- 
fina.  "  Oh,  Carlos,  Carlos,  what  shall  I  do  now  ?  " 

"  Back  with  you,  you  good-for-nothing  woman  !  " 
came  from  the  leader  of  the  Spanish  detachment. 
"  I  thought  we  were  on  the  right  trail.  We  ought 
to  shoot  you  for  lying  to  us." 

At  that  moment  came  a  deep  groan  of  pain, 
showing  that  Carlos  was  not  yet  dead.  He  had 
been  shot  in  the  arm  and  through  the  back,  but 
the  wounds  were  not  dangerous,  although  painful. 

Without  paying  attention  to  what  more  the 
Spaniards  had  to  say,  Josefina  busied  herself  over 


CARLOS,    THE   KEBEL   SPY  221 

the  body  of  her  brother,  laying  him  out  on  the 
grass  and  binding  up  his  wounds  with  such  rags 
as  were  handy.  While  she  was  doing  this  the 
Spaniards  began  an  excited  conversation  among 
themselves,  of  which,  of  course,  Walter  under 
stood  not  a  word. 

"Your  brother  had  a  very  convenient  hiding- 
place  in  the  tree,"  suggested  the  leader  of  the 
detachment,  a  greasy,  lean-faced  corporal,  who  re 
joiced  in  the  name  of  Pedro  Ruz.  "  Had  he  not 
shown  himself,  it  is  doubtful  if  we  should  have 
located  him." 

"  You  are  bad  men  to  shoot  him  —  I  want 
nothing  to  do  with  you,"  was  Josefina's  only  re 
sponse.  "Go  —  and  leave  my  brother  to  me." 

"  Leave  him  here  !  "  burst  out  Pedro  Ruz.  "  No, 
no,  he  goes  with  us  as  a  prisoner.  If  I  am  not 
mistaken,  he  is  the  spy  Captain  Coleo  has  been 
after  these  many  days." 

"  You  cannot  take  him  away  —  a  journey  will 
kill  him." 

"  He  must  go  —  whether  it  kills  him  or  not.  He 
can  ride  on  the  back  of  the  horse  one  of  my  men 
is  bringing  up.  Captain  Coleo  will  want  to  in 
terview  him  before  nightfall.  And  let  me  tell 


222  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

you,  if  it  is  discovered  that  he  has  been  carrying 
information  to  the  rebels  or  those  Yankee  pigs  out 
in  the  waters  beyond  the  bay,  why,  so  much  the 
worse  for  him,  that's  all."  And  Corporal  Ruz 
shrugged  his  shoulders  suggestively. 

In  a  moment  more  the  horse  was  brought  for 
ward,  a  beast  as  lean  as  its  owner,  since  fodder  in 
that  territory  was  becoming  a  scarce  article.  Since 
Carlos  could  not  move  himself,  he  was  lifted  up  to 
the  saddle  in  anything  but  a  gentle  fashion.  Jose- 
fina  began  to  expostulate,  but  the  only  attention 
paid  to  her  was  by  one  of  the  men,  who  snatched 
at  her  arm  and  hurled  her  backward. 

"You  must  learn  to  mind  your  betters,"  said  the 
soldier.  "Our  worthy  corporal  knows  his  business." 

"  I  will  search  the  man,  to  see  if  lie  carries  any 
despatches,"  put  in  Corporal  Ruz.  "  Ha,  you  ras 
cal,  let  me  get  at  that  breast  pocket  of  yours. 
And,  Camara,  climb  up  into  the  tree  and  look 
into  that  hole.  There  may  be  something  worth 
finding  there." 


CHAPTER  XX 

IN  THE  HAXDS  OF  THE  EXEMY 

As  Walter  did  not  understand  what  was  said, 
he  was  not  aware  of  his  peril  until  the  Spanish 
soldier  began  to  climb  the  tree.  Then  he  realized 
the  truth,  and  his  heart  sank  within  him. 

"  It's  all  up  with  me  now,"  he  half  groaned. 
"  I  wonder  what  they  will  do  with  me  after  they 
find  me." 

Reaching  the  top  of  the  opening,  the  soldier 
.paused  and  shouted  something  to  his  companions 
regarding  the  darkness  of  the  hole  below. 

"  Light  a  match  and  drop  it  down,"  ordered 
Corporal  Ruz.  "  This  rascal  carries  nothing,"  he 
went  on,  disappointedly,  having  found  Carlos's 
pockets  empty  of  anything  of  value.  The  negro 
did  carry  a  message,  but  it  was  on  a  small  patch 
of  thin  paper,  which  had  been  rolled  up  tightly 
and  concealed  in  his  thick  woolly  hair. 

The  match  was  lit  and  dropped,  and  all  ablaze  it 
223 


224  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

landed  upon  Walter's  head.  He  caught  it  in  silence 
and  put  it  out,  but  the  movement  was  noticed  from 
above. 

"  There  is  some  one  else  in  the  tree  —  a  white 
man,"  cried  the  soldier.  "  Come  out  of  that  !  " 
he  continued. 

Walter  guessed  what  the  command  meant,  and 
as  further  concealment  would  have  been  useless  he 
attempted  to  crawl  from  the  hole.  But  this  was 
not  so  easy,  and  in  the  end  the  soldier  had  to  lend 
a  hand,  and  then  both  leaped  to  the  ground  together. 

"  Un  Americano!"  ejaculated  Corporal  Ruz.  "De 
donde  viene  V.  ?  "  he  added,  asking  Walter  where 
he  came  from. 

At  this  the  boy  shook  his  head.  "  I  don't 
understand  you,"  he  said. 

"No  habla  V.  castellano?^  continued  the  corporal, 
asking  if  he  did  not  speak  Spanish. 

Again  Walter  shook  his  head. 

"  Yankee  pig  !  "  murmured  the  corporal,  using 
a  term  quite  common  in  Cuba  during  the  war. 
"  Why  does  he  not  learn  our  beautiful  language  ? 
Does  he  expect  we  will  learn  his  dirty  English  ?  " 

He  turned  to  the  soldier  who  had  discovered 
Walter,  and  between  them  they  searched  the  lad's 


IX   THE   HANDS  OF   THE   ENEMY  225 

clothing   thoroughly,  and    even   took  off   his   shoes 
and  stockings. 

"Nothing,"  growled  the  under-officer.  "It  is 
strange." 

Carlos  had  been  almost  unconscious,  but  was  now 
recovering.  "  We  are  in  serious  trouble,  I  am 
afraid,"  said  Walter,  addressing  him;  but  Carlos  pre 
tended  not  to  understand,  not  wishing  the  Spaniards 
to  know  that  he  spoke  English,  for  then  they  would 
have  been  more  certain  than  ever  that  he  was  a  spy. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  entire  party  had  left  the 
hut  and  was  making  its  way  along  the  trail,  Carlos 
on  horseback  and  the  others  walking,  Walter  be 
tween  the  corporal  and  a  Spanish  private,  and 
Josefina  bringing  up  in  the  rear  as  if  unwilling  to 
leave  her  brother. 

The  soldiers  were  eight  in  number,  and  each  was 
armed  with  a  Mauser  rifle  of  recent  pattern. 
They  were  a  hungry-looking  set  and  their  uniforms 
were  sadly  in  need  of  repair.  Six  were  of  middle 
age,  but  the  other  two  were  no  older  than  Walter, 
for  conscription  into  the  Spanish  army  begins  at 
as  early  an  age  as  it  does  in  the  navy  —  some  of 
the  soldiers  and  sailors  being  scarcely  fifteen  to 
sixteen  years  old  ! 


226  FIGHTING   IX   CUBAN    WATERS 

The  course  of  the  party  was  upward,  over  rocks 
and  trailing  vines,  and  through  a  woods  where 
hardly  a  breath  of  air  was  stirring.  The  heat 
soon  made  Walter's  head  ache  again,  and  he  was 
glad  enough  when  a  small  Spanish  camp  was 
gained  and  he  was  allowed  to  sit  down  in  the 
shade  of  a  plantain  and  rest. 

The  encampment  was  in  the  open,  the  only 
shelter  being  that  provided  for  the  officer  in 
charge,  Captain  Coleo  —  a  bit  of  dilapidated  can 
vas  stretched  between  four  trees  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  apart.  Under  this  shelter  Avere  located  a 
couple  of  hammocks,  a  small  folding  table  for 
writing,  and  a  camp  chair. 

Walter  found  Captain  Coleo  a  thorough  gentle 
man  despite  his  surroundings.  He  was  well  edu 
cated  and  spoke  English  fluently,  with  a  soft 
accent  which  under  other  circumstances  would 
have  been  quite  pleasing. 

"  So  you  are  an  American  youth  ? "  he  said, 
after  he  had  listened  to  his  corporal's  report  and 
examined  Carlos.  "  And  where  did  you  come 
from,  and  what  are  you  doing  here  ? " 

Feeling  there  would  be  no  use  in  concealing 
the  truth,  Walter  told  his  story.  At  the  mention- 


IN   THE   HANDS    OF   THE   ENEMY  227 

ing  of  the  Merrimac  the  Spanish  captain's  brow 
grew  dark. 

"It  was  a  brave  deed,  but  it  will  do  your 
countrymen  small  good,"  he  said.  "  The  boat  is 
not  directly  across  the  channel,  so  the  harbor 
pilots  have  discovered.  All  of  your  comrades  are 
now  prisoners  in  Morro  Castle,  and  I  presume 
that  is  where  I  shall  have  to  send  you." 

"  As  a  prisoner  of  war  ?  " 

"  As  a  prisoner  of  war.  And  you  can  be  thank 
ful  that  in  trying  to  escape  you  were  not  shot 
down,"  continued  Captain  Coleo. 

Walter  was  very  thirsty,  and  said  so.  "  You 
look  as  if  you  were  getting  ready  to  have  the 
fever,"  was  the  captain's  comment,  and  he  had  a 
soldier  bring  Walter  a  tin  cup  full  of  guarapo, 
water  sweetened  with  sugarcane  ends,  and  said 
to  be  healthier  than  the  plain  article.  Good  water 
in  Cuba  is  scarce,  and  although  Walter  did  not 
know  it,  it  was  only  the  captain's  natural  good- 
heartedness  that  obtained  for  him  what  he  wanted. 

It  had  threatened  rain  for  some  hours,  and  as 
nightfall  came  on,  the  first  drops  of  a  violent 
tropical  storm  descended.  Soon  from  a  distance 
came  the  rumble  of  thunder,  and  spasmodic  flashes 


228  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

of  lightning  lit  up  the  woods.  The  soldiers 
huddled  under  the  shelter  of  a  clump  of  low 
trees,  while  Captain  Coleo  sought  the  protection 
of  the  canvas,  accompanied  by  Walter,  Carlos, 
and  a  guard.  Walter's  hands  had  been  bound 
behind  him,  and  he  was  allowed  to  sit  on  a  small 
block  of  wood  beside  one  of  the  hammocks  in 
which  the  wounded  negro  reclined. 

"  We  will  not  move  to  Santiago  to-night,"  said 
the  Spanish  captain.  "I  think  the  storm  will 
clear  away  by  morning." 

He  was  busy  making  out  a  report,  and  sat  at 
his  little  table  for  the  purpose,  a  spluttering  Mambi 
taper  fastened  to  a  stick  driven  into  the  soil  being 
his  only  light.  The  taper  went  out  half  a  dozen 
times,  but  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  light 
it  again,  and  this  Captain  Coleo  did  without  the 
least  show  of  impatience.  To  him  war  was  a 
business,  and  he  was  satisfied  to  take  matters  just 
as  they  came. 

The  guard  trudged  around  and  around  the 
patch  covered  by  the  canvas,  his  rifle  on  his 
shoulder  and  the  never-failing  Spanish  cigarette 
in  his  mouth.  Occasionally  he  glanced  toward 
Walter  and  the  negro,  but  his  interest  in  the 


IN    THE   HANDS    OF   THE   ENEMY  229 

prisoners  soon  gave  way  to  his  own  discomforts, 
and  lie  gave  them  no  more  attention. 

Presently  Walter  felt  a  hand  steal  over  his 
shoulder.  "  What  you  think  —  we  run  for  it, 
maybe  ?  "  whispered  Carlos. 

"I'd  like  to  run,  but  we  may  get  shot,"  whis 
pered  Walter  in  return. 

At  this  Carlos  shrugged  his  shoulders.  With 
two  Mauser  bullets  in  him  the  tall  negro  rebel 
was  still  "game."  It  was  such  men  as  he  who 
had  kept  this  unequal  warfare  in  Cuba  going  for 
three  long  years  despite  Spain's  utmost  endeavors 
to  end  the  conflict. 

"  Raise  up  a  bit  and  I  untie  rope,"  he  said,  as 
the  guard  made  another  round  and  walked  from 
them.  "Maybe  we  can  go  when  big  thunder  and 
lightning  come  —  not  so  ?  " 

"  All  right  —  I'll  go  you,"  cried  Walter,  lowly,  and 
in  a  bit  of  Western  slang.  "  A  fellow  can't  die  but 
once,  and  I  have  no  desire  to  be  taken  to  the  dungeon 
of  Morro  Castle,  or  to  any  other  Spanish  lockup." 

He  raised  up,  and  in  a  trice  Carlos  had  the 
cords  about  his  wrists  unloosened.  Captain  Coleo 
still  sat  writing.  But  now  the  taper  went  out 
again  and  he  paused  to  relight  it. 


230  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

At  that  instant  came  a  blinding  flash  of  light 
ning  and  a  loud  peal  of  thunder  which  startled 
the  few  horses  the  camp  possessed  and  caused 
them  to  prance  about  madly.  "  Now  !  "  cried 
Carlos,  and  with  one  quick  leap  he  cleared  six 
feet  of  ground  between  the  hammock  and  the 
nearest  patch  of  woods.  Walter  also  leaped,  and 
away  they  went  side  by  side  through  the  wind, 
rain,  and  darkness. 

Crack  !  crack !  It  was  the  reports  of  two 
Mausers,  and  the  ping  of  a  bullet  from  the  Span 
ish  captain's  pistol  followed.  Walter  felt  a  strange 
whistling  by  his  ear,  and  putting  up  his  hand 
found  it  covered  with  blood.  The  bullet  from 
the  pistol  had  scratched  the  side  of  his  head. 
Had  his  aim  been  an  inch  closer,  gentlemanly  Cap 
tain  Coleo  would  have  killed  the  youth  on  the 
spot. 

"  You  are  hit  ? "  queried  Carlos,  breathing  heav 
ily,  for  loss  of  blood  had  made  him  weak. 

"I  —  I  reckon  it's  not  much !  "  panted  Walter. 
"But  hurry  up  —  they  are  coming  after  us!" 

The  boy  was  right ;  both  the  captain  and  the 
guard  were  following  the  pair  with  all  possible 
speed,  while  three  others  brought  up  in  the  rear, 


IX  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  ENEMY       231 

the  other  soldiers  remaining  behind  to  manage  the 
horses,  three  of  which  had  broken  their  tethers 
and  were  bounding  down  the  trail  at  a  breakneck 
speed. 

Could  he  manage  to  escape?  Such  was  the  one 
question  which  Walter  asked  himself  as  he  stum 
bled  on  in  the  darkness.  A  very  few  minutes 
would  suffice  to  answer  the  all-important  query. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  FLIGHT  TO  THE  SEACOAST 

CARLOS  knew  the  wood  well,  and  now  he  took 
hold  of  Walter's  hand.  "  Put  udder  arm  up,  or  get 
hurt  maybe,"  he  said.  "Nasty  trees  around  here." 
And  Walter  found  this  was  true,  for  presently 
a  low  and  twisted  branch  caught  him  and  flung 
him  flat  on  his  back.  Had  his  arm  been  down 
he  must  have  been  knocked  senseless. 

The  Spanish  captain  and  the  guard  came  crash 
ing  along  behind  them,  shouting  '•'•Alto!"  (Halt) 
at  the  top  of  their  lungs.  Captain  Coleo  was  very 
much  chagrined  that  they  had  gotten  away  so 
easily,  and  blamed  the  guard  roundly.  The  latter 
did  not  dare  to  answer  back,  and  felt  he  must 
catch  the  fleeing  prisoners  or  suffer  for  it. 

The  course  had  been  straight  ahead,  but  now 
Carlos  turned  to  the  southward.  Presently  they 
came  to  a  halt  at  the  edge  of  a  mountain  torrent. 
The  pursuers  were  still  on  the  track  and  drawing 
closer. 

232 


233 

"  Jump  and  go  ahead ;  I  will  come  after,"  panted 
Carlos,  who  could  run  no  more.  "  Don't  wait !  " 
he  added,  as  he  saw  Walter  hesitate. 

"  But  yourself  -    "  began  Walter. 

"  Never  mind  —  go  !  "  broke  in  the  negro  ;  and 
Walter  made  the  leap  over  the  stream  and  ran 
on.  Instantly  Carlos  sought  the  shelter  of  a  near-by 
tree  and  became  silent. 

" I  do  not  see  them,  capitan"  observed  the 
guard,  as  he  and  Captain  Coleo  reached  the  spot. 
"  Have  they  crossed,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  I  will  see,  Rampo,"  was  the  answer,  and  the 
captain  hurried  on  in  the  direction  Walter  had 
taken.  Scarcely  was  he  out  of  sight  than  with 
set  teeth  Carlos  came  forth  from  the  shadow  of 
the  tree  and  crawled  up  behind  Rampo  as  silently 
as  a  panther  seeking  its  prey.  A  quick,  nervous 
clutch  and  the  negro  had  the  soldier's  Mauser. 
Then  came  a  heavy  swing  of  the  butt,  and  with 
hardly  a  groan  the  Spanish  guard  went  down  with 
a  broken  skull.  "  Cuba  libre ! "  muttered  Carlos, 
grimly.  "  That  for  Maceo,  our  fallen  hero  !  "  re 
ferring  to  Antonio  Maceo,  the  patriot  who  had  led 
the  rebels  in  eastern  Cuba  for  several  years,  only 
to  be  shot  down  at  last  in  ambush. 


FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

In  the  meantime  Walter  ran  on,  not  knowing 
where  he  was  going,  and  hardly  caring,  if  only 
his  liberty  might  be  assured  to  him.  Occasionally 
a  flash  of  lightning  lit  up  the  scene,  but  this  only 
served  to  make  the  general  darkness  more  intense. 
Soon  his  foot  caught  in  an  exposed  tree-root,  and 
he  went  headlong,  and  rolled  over  and  over  to 
the  bottom  of  a  hollow  filled  with  rank  vegetation, 
foul-smelling  moss,  and  brackish  water. 

Before  he  could  collect  his  scattered  senses  he 
heard  the  Spanish  captain  coming  up.  He  arose 
slowly  to  his  feet,  but,  struck  by  a  sudden  idea, 
remained  in  the  hollow,  ankle-deep  in  water,  and 
screened  from  view  by  the  vegetation  previously 
mentioned. 

A  flash  of  lightning  revealed  the  captain  and 
at  the  same  time  uncovered  the  youth.  For  a 
second  both  stood  spellbound,  then  the  Spaniard 
drew  his  pistol. 

"  Surrender  !  "  he  shouted ;  and  the  former  mild 
ness  in  his  tone  of  voice  was  now  missing.  "  Sur 
render,  or  I'll  shoot  you  where  you  stand." 

"  Don't  shoot,"  answered  Walter,  readily.  "  I'll 
come  out." 

"Where  is  that  Cuban  rebel?" 


SURRKNDKR,    OR     I'l.I,    SHOOT    You     WlIKRK    YuU     STAND." 

Page  234 


THE   FLIGHT   TO   THE   SEACOAST  235 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  You  don't  know  ?  Ha !  don't  fool  with  me, 
lad — I  am  in  no  humor  for  it  now." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,  and  that  is  all  there  is 
to  it.  We  separated  several  minutes  ago." 

"  I  do  not  believe  you  —  he  is  hiding  somewhere 
in  the  hollow.  Tell  me  where,  or  as  sure  as  1 
stand  here,  I  will  put  a  bullet  through  your  head." 
And  the  pistol  was  aimed  straight  at  Walter. 

Before  the  youth  could  remonstrate,  indeed,  be 
fore  he  had  time  to  think,  the  crack  of  a  Mauser 
penetrated  the  damp  air.  A  second  of  silence  fol 
lowed,  and  then,  to  Walter's  amazement,  Captain 
Coleo  sank  down  where  he  stood,  a  ball  through 
his  brain. 

"  I  hit  him  !  what  a  fine  shot  I  "  The  words  came 
from  Carlos,  as  he  emerged  into  the  opening,  the 
rifle  still  in  hand.  "  That  makes  number  two, 
for  de  udder  rascal  is  laid  low  with  a  broken 
head.  Senor,  we  are  in  luck,  but  let  us  make  de 
most  of  our  chance." 

"But — but  —  is  he  dead?"  asked  Walter,  in 
a  hoarse  whisper.  To  him  such  a  proceeding 
seemed  little  less  than  murder. 

"  Dead  ?     To  be  sure  he  is  dead.     But  don't  let 


236  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

dat  worry  you.  See  de  blood  on  your  left  ear, 
where  he  tried  to  serve  you  as  I  served  him. 
Come,  before  de  udder  soldiers  arrive."  And,  catch 
ing  Walter  by  the  arm,  Carlos  hurried  him  away. 

"  And  this  is  war  !  "  thought  the  boy.  "  Oh,  how 
cruel !  how  barbarous !  But  Carlos  is  right,  the 
captain  tried  to  kill  me."  He  drew  a  long  breath. 
"  I'm  glad  I  wasn't  the  one  to  knock  him  over." 

The  pair  had  gone  on  about  a  hundred  yards 
further  when  they  came  out  on  a  broad  highway, 
used  principally  as  an  ox-team  road.  Here  Car 
los  called  a  halt  again,  to  get  his  breath  and  take 
a  view  of  the  situation. 

"  Hark  —  a  horse  come  !  "  he  ejaculated  sud 
denly,  and  slipped  a  cartridge  into  the  Mauser 
rifle,  for  he  had  taken  the  ammunition  box  from 
the  dead  soldier.  "  Back,  out  of  sight  —  ah  !  " 

Walter  ran  to  the  shelter  of  a  tree.  But  at  the 
same  time  the  negro  bounded  forward,  throwing 
the  rifle  to  the  ground.  It  was  no  horseman  ap 
proaching,  only  one  of  the  animals  that  had  broken 
away  during  the  heavy  thunder  and  lightning. 
Making  a  clutch  at  the  beast's  bridle,  Carlos  held 
fast  and  brought  the  horse  to  a  sudden  halt. 

"  We   in    luck,"    he    observed,    as   Walter    came 


THE   FLIGHT   TO  THE   SEACOAST  237 

out  of  hiding.  "  Mount  wid  me,  and  we'll  soon 
be  miles  away  !  " 

"  You  get  into  the  saddle,  and  I'll  ride  behind," 
answered  Walter,  who  saw  how  weak  Carlos  now 
was.  And  thus  they  went  on  until  several  miles 
had  been  covered.  Presently,  from  a  distance,  the 
youth  heard  the  booming  of  the  surf. 

"Is  that  from  the  seacoast?"  he  asked;  and  the 
negro  nodded.  "  And  where  are  we  ?  " 

"We  close  to  de  ocean,  two  or  three  miles  east 
from  San  Juan  hill.  We  stop  pretty  soon  —  werry 
much  tired."  And  Carlos  closed  his  eyes.  He 
would  have  fallen  from  the  horse  had  not  Walter 
held  him  fast.  "  Turn  to  left  at  first  cross-road," 
he  muttered,  and  then  fainted. 

"  Poor  chap  !  "  thought  the  boy.  "  He  kept  up 
well,  with  two  bullets  in  him.  I  must  do  what 
I  can  for  him."  And  he  urged  the  horse  on,  at 
the  same  time  keeping  his  eyes  open  for  the 
side  road  mentioned.  Soon  it  came  into  view, 
and  five  minutes  later  he  found  himself  at  the 
entrance  to  a  hut  similar  to  that  occupied  by 
Josefma,  who  had  now  disappeared  entirely  from 
the  scene.  Beyond  the  hut  the  road  lost  itself  in 
a  wilderness  of  small  brush. 


238  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

The  hoof-strokes  of  the  horse  had  been  ob 
served,  and  soon  several  men,  Cubans  and  negroes, 
came  from  the  building.  "  Carlos  !  "  cried  several. 
They  turned  to  Walter.  "  What  does  this  mean, 
sefior?"  came  in  Spanish. 

"  Spaniards,"  answered  Walter,  and  pointed  be 
hind  him.  Then  he  pointed  to  the  gun  and  to 
the  wounds  Carlos  had  received,  and  also  showed 
his  own  bloody  ear  and  scalp. 

The  dumb  language  was  instantly  comprehended, 
and  two  men  carried  the  unconscious  negro  into 
the  hut,  while  others  took  charge  of  the  horse 
and  conducted  Walter  inside.  The  lad  found  the 
small  abode  crowded  with  insurgents,  who  had 
come  in  to  escape  the  drenching  rain,  and  the  air 
was  heavy  with  the  smoke  of  cigarettes  and  the 
smell  of  a  stew  seasoned  with  garlic,  which  was 
cooking  over  a  fire  in  the  rear.  A  constant  flow 
of  conversation  was  kept  up,  of  which  he  under 
stood  only  an  occasional  word. 

Poor  Carlos  was  in  a  bad  way,  and  by  morning 
it  was  easy  to  see  he  could  be  removed  only  with 
difficulty.  Yet  he  was  cheerful,  or  tried  to  be 
so,  and  smiled  when  Walter  came  to  him. 

"  I  have  news  for  you,"  he  said,  in  his   broken 


THE   FLIGHT   TO   THE   SEACOAST  239 

English.  "  Your  warships  fight,  bang,  bang,  bang  ! 
down  by  the  water,  at  Aguadores  and  udder 
places.  Think  ships  go  up  by  Guantanamo  Bay, 
maybe.  If  sailors  land,  you  have  a  chance  to 
join  them  —  not  so  ?  " 

"  I  just  hope  some  of  our  boys  do  land,  and 
that  right  away !  "  cried  Walter.  "  Can't  I  get 
somebody  to  show  me  the  way  to  the  sea- 
coast  ?  " 

"  Gilberto,  my  brudder,  show  the  way.  But  not 
to-day.  Maybe  to-morrow  or  next  day  —  when  it 
is  safe." 

Gilberto  had  just  come  in ;  a  stout  negro  as 
short  as  his  brother  was  long,  but  a  rebel  fighter 
to  the  core.  He,  too,  could  speak  a  little  English 
and  said  he  had  been  a  sailor. 

"Sail  from  Santiago  to  Philadelphia  twice  with 
ore,"  he  said.  "Very  nice  country,  America;  me 
like  de  people.  Only  werry  cold  in  winter ;  no 
like  dat  —  make  go  dis  way."  And  he  gave  a 
shiver.  Later  on,  Walter  learned  that  the  entire 
district  was  rich  in  minerals  and  that  large  quan 
tities  of  these  were  shipped  from  Santiago  and 
from  a  near-by  town  called  Baiquiri. 

The   day   passed   slowly,    and.   so   did  the    next. 


FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Cubans  came  and  went. 
They  were  a  detachment  of  Garcia's  army,  the 
main  body  of  which  was  located  many  miles 
further  northward.  They  were  watching  the  sea- 
coast  and  trying  to  communicate  with  the  Ameri 
can  ships  of  war,  which  could  be  seen  on  fair 
days  lying  in  the  offing.  They  knew  that  once  a 
landing  was  effected  by  the  Americans,  Uncle 
Sam  would  speedily  supply  them  with  what  they 
so  greatly  needed  —  clothing,  guns,  and  ammuni 
tion.  Once  these  were  obtained,  they  felt  that 
they  could  secure  their  independence.  They  had 
yet  to  learn  that  the  trained  soldiers  of  Spain 
could  be  conquered  only  by  the  equally,  or  better, 
trained  soldiers  of  the  States. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  and  while  they 
could  distinctly  hear  the  sounds  of  heavy  firing  in 
the  vicinity  of  Morro  Castle  and  the  Estrella  bat 
tery,  Walter  and  Gilberto  started  off,  each  on 
horseback.  The  youth  felt  once  more  like  him 
self,  for  the  Cubans  had  continued  to  give  him 
drinks  of  herbs  which  had  entirely  banished  the 
lurking  fever  in  his  system.  Before  leaving  Walter 
heard  from  the  negress  Josefina.  She  had  escaped 
injury,  and  fled  to  the  northward,  there  to  join  a 


THE   FLIGHT   TO   THE   SEACOAST  241 

great  number  of  women  and  children,  the  wives 
and  young  people  of  the  insurgents. 

The  course  lay  along  a  stretch  of  tableland  and 
then  up  the  side  of  a  small  mountain.  At  one 
point  on  the  mountain  top  there  was  a  clearing, 
and  here  a  distant  view  could  be  obtained  of  the 
ocean  to  the  south  of  the  "  Pearl  of  the  Antilles," 
as  Cuba  had  often  been  termed. 

"  Your  ship's  over  dare,"  explained  Gilberto, 
pointing  with  his  long  fingers.  "  Might  see  dem 
if  we  had  glass  like  dis."  And  he  shut  up  one  hand 
an(J.  placed  it  over  the  other,  in  imitation  of  a  spy 
glass. 

"  Do  the  Spaniards  guard  the  coast  ?  " 

"  To  be  sure,  sefior,  very  heaby  guard,  too,  at 
Aguadores  and  Guantanamo  Bay." 

"Then  we'll  have  to  go  slow  when  we  get  near 
the  water's  edge." 

"  We  no  go  to  water  right  away,  senor  —  wait 
till  we  see  de  coast  clear.  Gilberto  find  you  good 
hiding-place  and  bring  eating,  and  there  you  stay 
till  I  say  come  —  not  so  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  that  will  be  best.  I'm  sure  I  don't 
want  to  be  taken  prisoner  again,"  concluded  Walter, 
very  positively. 


242  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

On  they  went,  down  the  opposite  side  of  the 
mountain.  They  were  now  travelling  in  an  east 
erly  direction,  and  before  night  many  miles  were 
covered.  At  last  they  came  to  a  series  of  rocks 
overlooking  the  ocean,  but  situated  at  least  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  back  from  the  beach  proper. 

"  Here  is  a  good  place  to  hide  ;  Gilberto  know  it 
well,"  said  the  guide,  and  pointed  out  a  rude  cave. 
"  Here  Americano  can  stay  many  days  and  Span 
iards  not  find  him.  You  take  it  easy,  and  I  bring 
food  to  you."  And  then  Gilberto  hurried  off  alone. 

Walter  was  glad  to  rest,  for  the  travelling  even 
on  horseback  had  been  very  trying.  He  sat  down, 
and  in  half  an  hour  Gilberto  returned  with  some 
bread,  some  jerked  beef,  and  a  number  of  other 
eatables,  done  up  in  a  bit  of  coffee  sacking. 

"  Dere,  dat  last  two,  free  days,"  said  the  guide. 
"Now  lay  low,  as  Americano  say,  and  Gilberto 
come  back  one  day  or  udder.  I  take  horses,  and 
say  buenas  noches."  And  with  this  good  night,  Gil 
berto  disappeared  down  the  trail,  leaving  Walter 
to  himself.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  youth  never 
saw  or  heard  of  either  Gilberto  or  Carlos  again. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

THE  LANDING  OF  THE  MARINES  AT  GUANTANAMO 

WHILE  Walter  was  in  the  depths  of  the  Cuban 
wilderness,  trying  to  escape  from  the  Spanish  sol 
diers,  history,  so  far  as  it  concerned  our  war  with 
Spain,  was  moving  forward  rapidly. 

As  soon  as  it  was  felt  that  Cervera  could  not 
escape  from  Santiago  Bay  without  running  the  risk 
of  a  fearful  battle  with  Admiral  Sampson's  or  Com 
modore  Schley's  squadron,  preparations  were  made 
to  send  an  army  of  invasion  forward. 

For  such  an  army  a  safe  landing-place  must  be 
secured,  and  with  this  in  view,  the  American  war 
ships  began  the  bombardment  of  various  places 
along  the  coast,  from  Santiago  Bay  to  Guantanamo 
Bay,  twenty  odd  miles  farther  eastward. 

The  first  of  these  heavy  bombardments  took  place 
on  the  sixth  of  June,  and  was  directed  against 
Morro  Castle,  the  batteries  at  Punta  Gorda  and 
Zocapa,  and  at  the  village  of  Aguadores,  already 

243 


2-14  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

mentioned.  Aguadores  is  several  miles  to  the  east 
ward  of  Santiago  Bay,  to  the  rear  of  the  rocky 
promontory  upon  which  Morro  Castle  is  located, 
and  it  was  felt  that  if  once  a  footing  could  be 
obtained  here,  the  actual  invasion  by  the  soldiers 
would  become  an  easy  matter.  The  bombardment 
lasted  many  hours,  and  the  various  batteries  were 
much  damaged  and  the  Spanish  warship,  the  Reina 
Mercedes,  was  so  badly  riddled  that  she  was  later 
on  sunk  in  the  channel,  thus  blocking  the  outlet 
to  the  bay  more  completely  than  ever.  No  damage 
was  done  to  the  American  ships. 

Through  this  bombardment  a  landing  was  effected 
at  Baiquiri,  not  far  from  Aguadores,  by  a  small 
body  of  marines,  who  burned  up  some  Spanish 
stores  and  spiked  a  number  of  old-fashioned  guns. 

Following  this  attack  came  one  upon  Guantanamo 
and  the  other  settlements  clustered  around  the 
shores  of  the  bay  of  that  name.  Here  the  fighting 
was  as  fierce  as  before,  but  before  it  was  over  a 
body  of  marines  from  the  Oregon  were  landed,  and 
later  on  came  six  hundred  marines  from  the  Panther. 
The  Spaniards  stood  their  ground  for  only  a  short 
while  and  then  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  the 
American  flag  was  hoisted  amid  a  wild  cheering 


LANDING   OF   THE   MARINES    AT    GUANTANAMO      245 

from  the  troops  at  hand  and  those  on  the  warships. 
No  sooner  had  the  landing-places  at  Guantanamo, 
Baiquiri,  and  Aguadores  been  secured  than  the 
army  of  invasion  under  General  Shafter  left  Key 
West  for  these  points,  the  particulars  of  which  ex 
pedition  have  already  been  related  in  "  A  Young 
Volunteer  in  Cuba." 

Walter  slept  "  like  a  rock  "  during  the  first  night 
in  the  cave,  being  thoroughly  exhausted  by  his 
long  ride.  He  did  not  awaken  until  long  after  the 
sun  had  come  up,  and  for  the  moment  could  not 
realize  where  he  was. 

A  scanty  breakfast  was  speedily  despatched,  and 
he  walked  out  to  inspect  his  surroundings.  Mind 
ful  of  what  Gilberto  had  told  him  about  the  enemy, 
he  was  careful  how  he  exposed  himself,  and  at  the 
first  sign  of  anything  suspicious  he  ran  to  cover. 

Thus  the  day  passed  away  slowly.  In  vain  he 
tried  to  make  out  some  of  the  warships  far  out  at 
sea.  To  his  naked  eye  they  were  but  specks  on 
that  ceaseless  tide  which  glared  like  molten  lead 
in  the  fierce  rays  of  the  sun. 

On  the  following  night  the  youth  underwent  a 
curious  experience.  He  had  just  thrown  himself 
down  to  rest  when,  without  warning,  the  cave  was 


246  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

filled  with  a  light  that  was  dazzling.  Thinking  a 
fire  must  have  suddenly  descended  upon  him,  he 
leaped  up,  when,  as  silently  as  it  had  come,  the 
light  disappeared. 

"  Now,  what  in  the  world  does  that  mean  ?  "  he 
asked  himtelf,  and  started  for  the  cave  opening, 
when,  swish !  the  light  came  back,  almost  blinding 
him.  Then  he  understood  it  all. 

"  It's  a  searchlight  from  one  of  our  ships  !  "  he 
cried,  half  aloud.  "If  only  they  could  see  me  and 
take  me  on  board !  "  He  watched  for  the  light  to 
reappear,  but  it  never  showed  itself  again,  being 
trained  upon  Morro  Castle  and  the  entrance  to 
Santiago  Harbor. 

On  the  third  day  in  the  cave  Walter's  stock  of 
provisions  gave  out.  No  one  had  come  near  him, 
and  the  loneliness  of  his  situation  was  maddening. 

"I  can't  stand  this  any  longer,"  he  mused.  "I 
must  get  out,  if  only  to  hunt  for  something  to  eat." 

Fortunately  for  him,  Gilberto  had  left  him  a 
pistol  and  several  rounds  of  cartridges.  To  be 
sure,  the  weapon  was  an  old-fashioned  affair,  but 
it  was  better  than  nothing,  and  soon  the  youth 
was  out  in  the  woods  to  the  rear  of  the  rocks  try 
ing  to  scare  up  something  to  shoot. 


LANDING    OF    THE    MARINES    AT    GUANTANAMO      247 

The  woods  had  been  well  ransacked  by  both 
Spaniards  and  Cubans,  but  several  hours'  hunt 
yielded  two  birds,  besides  some  half-ripe  plantains 
and  some  nuts.  Walter  was  about  to  return  to 
the  cave  to  cook  the  birds  when  from  a  distance 
he  heard  loud  shouting,  and  presently  came  the 
rapid  discharge  of  firearms. 

"A  battle  of  some  kind  is  on,"  he  thought,  and 
ran  to  where  he  had  discovered  an  ox-cart  trail. 
He  had  scarcely  reached  the  shelter  of  a  clump  of 
bushes,  when  a  detachment  of  Cubans,  closely 
followed  by  two  companies  of  Spanish  cavalrymen, 
rushed  past,  both  parties  firing  as  they  moved. 

"This  is  getting  hot,"  thought  the  youth,  and 
started  to  retreat,  when  he  heard  more  soldiers 
coming  from  the  direction  of  the  cave.  As  there 
now  seemed  no  help  for  it,  he  crossed  the  trail 
and  plunged  along  a  side  path,  leading  eastward, 
—  a  trail  running  directly  to  Guantanamo. 

Walter  felt  that  the  best  thing  to  be  done  was 
to  put  distance  between  himself  and  his  enemies, 
and  he  did  not  stop  running  until  several  miles 
had  been  covered.  He  had,  meanwhile,  crossed  one 
small  mountain  stream,  and  now  he  found  himself 
on  the  bank  of  another.  There  was  no  bridge, 


248  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

and  the  watercourse  looked  rather  dangerous  to 
ford. 

"  I  might  as  well  follow  the  bank  down  to  the 
ocean,"  he  reasoned.  "But  I  must  have  some 
thing  to  eat  first."  And  finding  a  secluded  nook, 
he  built  a  tiny  fire  and  broiled  his  two  little  birds, 
both  of  which  made  hardly  a  meal.  Then,  ob 
taining  the  purest  drink  possible  from  the  river, 
he  continued  his  journey. 

By  nightfall  Walter  had  covered  many  miles, 
yet  no  ocean  came  to  view,  and  now  he  felt  that 
he  must  be  lost  in  the  wilds  of  the  island.  As 
this  conclusion  forced  itself  home  to  him  he  smiled 
grimly. 

"  Lost  in  Cuba,  and  T  came  down  here  to  help 
man  a  gun  on  the  Brooklyn"  he  muttered.  "Was 
there  ever  such  a  turning-around  before  !  I  won 
der  what  I  had  best  do  next." 

This  was  not  an  easy  question  to  answer.  It 
was  already  dark  under  the  thick  trees,  and  to 
spend  the  night  in  such  a  spot  was  not  pleasant 
to  contemplate. 

At  last  he  came  to  a  clearing.  Here  he  was 
about  to  settle  down,  under  the  shelter  of  a  small 
cliff  of  rocks,  when  something  appeared  that 


LANDING    OF   THE   MARINES    AT   GUANTANAMO      249 

caused  him  to  yell  with  all  the  strength  of  his 
lungs.  It  was  a  snake,  five  feet  long,  and  it  ad 
vanced  rapidly,  hissing  as  it  came. 

Walter  had  met  snakes  before,  harmless  reptiles 
not  half  as  big  as  the  present  one.  But  he  did 
not  know  but  that  this  reptile  might  be  poisonous, 
and  gaining  the  top  of  the  rocks  he  blazed  away 
with  the  pistol,  not  once,  but  several  times.  The 
last  shot  hit  the  snake  in  the  tail,  and  away  it 
darted,  out  of  sight  and  into  the  river. 

"  Ugh !  what  a  horrible  creature !  "  he  mur 
mured,  as  he  stood  still,  watching  for  the  possible 
reappearance  of  the  reptile.  "  I  wish  I  was  out 
of  this.  I'd  give  a  year's  wages  to  be  safe  on 
board  of  the  Brooklyn  once  more." 

The  words  had  just  left  Walter's  lips,  when  he 
heard  a  movement  behind  him.  Turning  swiftly, 
he  beheld  a  Spanish  soldier  gazing  at  him  from 
a  distance  of  less  than  fifty  feet.  The  soldier  had 
his  rifle,  and  now  the  weapon  was  aimed  at  the 
boy's  head. 

"  Alto ! "  came  the  Spanish  command  to  halt. 
"  Americano  !  " 

Walter's  surprise  was  complete,  yet  he  kept  his 
wits  about  him.  As  the  Spaniard  raised  his  gun, 


250  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

the  youth  made  a  quick  leap  for  the  shelter  of  a 
near-by  tree. 

Bang !  went  the  Mauser,  and  the  bullet  clipped 
the  tree  bark.  Then  Walter  took  aim,  and  trem 
bling  in  spite  of  himself,  pulled  the  trigger  of  his 
pistol.  The  enemy  was  hit  in  the  shoulder,  and 
uttered  a  deep  cry  of  pain. 

"  If  there  are  others  with  him  I'm  in  for  it 
now !  "  thought  the  boy,  and  took  to  his  heels 
along  the  bank  of  the  watercourse.  From  behind 
came  a  cry  for  help  and  another  to  arms,  and  in 
less  than  a  minute  a  whole  company  of  Spaniards 
were  in  wild  pursuit.  A  dozen  shots  rang  out, 
but  Walter  was  not  hit,  and  plunged  on.  But  he 
was  no  match  for  his  pursuers,  and  they  gradually 
drew  closer  and  closer.  Then  the  youth  stumbled 
and  fell,  and  ere  he  could  arise  he  found  himself 
surrounded. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

IN    A   SPANISH   PRISON 

THE  Spaniards  who  had  taken  Walter  a  prisoner 
were  the  most  villanous  the  youth  had  ever  be 
held.  They  were  all  short,  thin,  and  exceedingly 
yellow,  as  though  suffering  from  tropical  com 
plaints,  and  looked  more  than  half  starved.  Their 
clothing  was  in  rags,  for  they  had  been  in  the  wilds 
of  the  island,  thousands  of  miles  from  home,  for 
nearly  two  years,  and  a  heartless,  or  poverty- 
stricken,  military  department  had  failed  to  supply 
them  with  what  they  absolutely  needed. 

None  of  them  could  speak  English,  and  several 
talked  volubly  in  Spanish,  at  which  Walter  could 
do  nothing  but  shake  his  head  and  shrug  his 
shoulders.  He  was  motioned  to  arise,  and  as  he 
did  so  his  pistol  was  taken  from  him,  and  presently 
his  hands  were  fastened  tightly  behind  his  back. 

The  course  of  the  party  was  along  the  river  to 
a  rude  bridge,  over  which  Walter  was  marched  in 

251 


252  FIGHTING  IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

double-quick  time.  They  emerged  upon  a  narrow 
highway,  along  which  they  encountered  half  a  dozen 
detached  Spanish  companies,  some  moving  east 
ward  and  others  in  the  opposite  direction.  "  I'm 
in  for  it  now,"  thought  the  youth.  "  Escaping 
from  this  crowd  will  be  out  of  the  question." 

Night  was  well  advanced  when  they  turned  into 
a  small  settlement  fronting  Guantanamo  Bay.  Here 
were  half  a  dozen  log  houses  thatched  with  palm, 
while  not  far  off  was  the  office  of  a  mineral  com 
pany,  now  deserted  by  the  proprietors,  for  business 
in  this  section  of  Cuba  had  long  since  come  to  a 
standstill. 

Without  ceremony  Walter  was  taken  to  one  of 
the  log  huts  and  thrust  inside.  The  place  was 
scarcely  twenty  feet  square  and  was  crowded  with 
fifteen  or  sixteen  insurgents,  whites  and  negroes, 
who  huddled  on  the  floor,  making  themselves  as 
comfortable  as  possible  in  their  miserable  surround 
ings.  On  the  outside  of  the  hut  eight  Spanish 
soldiers  stood  on  guard,  with  rifles  ready  to  shoot 
down  the  first  prisoner  that  attempted  to  escape. 

"  Un  Americano ! "  exclaimed  one  of  the  prison 
ers,  a  bright  looking  Cuban,  as  he  edged  his  way 
to  Walter's  side.  ';  You  are  in  a  sorry  plight,  boy." 


IN  A   SPANISH   PRISON  253 

"  What  a  vile-smelling  place  !  "  murmured  Wal 
ter.  "  How  long  have  you  been  here  ?  " 

"  Two  days  and  nights,  with  only  some  stale 
bread  and  soup  to  eat,  —  and  the  soup  was  made 
of  mouldy  meat.  Oh,  that  we  were  free  !  " 

"  Silencio  !  "  roared  one  of  the  guards,  and  poked 
his  rifle  end  into  the  doorway.  "  I  will  shoot  the 
first  prisoner  who  dares  to  speak  again  !  "  he  added 
in  Spanish. 

Walter  wished  to  question  him,  but  did  not 
dare,  and  so  remained  silent.  It  was  past  mid 
night,  and  presently  most  of  the  prisoners  went 
to  sleep.  Huddled  in  a  corner,  the  lad  gave  him 
self  up  to  his  dismal  reflections. 

Daybreak  found  the  Spanish  soldiers  very  active, 
and  catching  a  glimpse  of  them  through  the  open 
doorway,  Walter  felt  that  some  important  move 
ment  was  contemplated.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the 
marines  from  the  Panther  had  landed,  and  the 
Spaniards  were  going  to  do  their  best  to  either 
capture  them  or  drive  them  back  to  our  warships. 

Before  noon  the  firing  in  the  distance  was  heavy, 
and  the  Spaniards  could  be  seen  rushing  their  com 
mands  hither  and  thither,  as  though  hardly  knowing 
how  to  conduct  the  campaign  which  had  been  thrust 


254  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

upon  them.  Evidently  they  realized  that  landing 
force  was  too  large  for  them,  for  they  gradually 
fell  back,  occupying  that  night  the  settlement  where 
the  prison  was  located. 

On  the  day  following,  the  attack  upon  both  sides 
was  renewed.  The  rattle  of  musketry  was  almost 
constant,  and  before  long  several  bullets  hit  the 
prison  itself.  The  prisoners  were  about  to  remon 
strate  at  this  when,  on  looking  out,  they  discovered 
that  their  late  guards  had  fled,  leaving  them  to  do 
as  they  pleased. 

"  Cuba  libre!"  yelled  the  insurgents  and  lost  no 
time  in  piling  into  the  open  air.  Not  far  away  lay 
several  dead  Spaniards,  and  rushing  up  to  the  corpses 
they  stripped  them  of  their  arms,  after  which  they 
disappeared  into  the  brush. 

"  I  wonder  if  the  army  of  invasion  has  come," 
was  Walter's  thought,  as  he,  too,  sought  the  open 
air.  A  short  sword  lay  beside  a  writing-table  under 
a  near-by  shelter,  and  he  appropriated  the  weapon. 
"  I'm  going  to  join  our  men  or  know  the  reason 
why !  "  And  away  he  went  toward  the  water, 
which  could  now  be  seen  quite  plainly  between  the 
rocks  and  hills. 

The  marines,  after  fighting  from  early  afternoon 


IN   A   SPANISH  PRISON  255 

until  the  following  morning,  were  now  intrenched 
on  a  small  hill,  protected  in  front  by  a  dense  chap 
arral.  They  were  utterly  worn  out,  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  reenforce  them  by  men  from 
the  Marblehead  and  other  vessels.  Several  field- 
guns  had  been  brought  ashore,  and  although  the 
firing  from  the  Spaniards  was  heavy,  our  gallant 
men  held  the  ground  they  had  first  claimed. 

"  Plait  !  Who  comes  there  ? "  came  the  com 
mand,  from  a  thicket,  and  Walter  stopped  short, 
although  the  words,  spoken  in  true  English,  filled 
him  with  joy. 

"  Are  you  an  American  ?  "  questioned  the  youth, 
eagerly. 

"  I  am,  and  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  Walter  Russell,  cruiser  Brooklyn.  Oh,  but  am 
I  not  glad  to  get  back  among  the  boys  again!  " 

"  From  the  Brooklyn  ?  What  are  you  doing 
ashore  here  ? "  questioned  the  marine,  a  bronzed 
but  evidently  a  good-natured  man  of  middle  age. 

"  It's  a  long  story.  I've  been  a  prisoner  twice, 
and  I  was  afraid  I  was  about  done  for  when  the 
guards  up  and  ran  away  from  the  prison  and  let 
me  and  a  crowd  of  Cubans  escape.  How  can  I  get 
back  to  my  ship  ?  " 


256  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

"You're  asking  me  too  much  now.  Go  down 
yonder  and  report  to  our  commander.  I  reckon 
there  ain't  no  call  to  rouse  up  the  corporal  of  the 
guard,  with  everybody  utterly  worn  out.  You're 
true  blue  —  I  can  see  that  by  the  cut  of  your 
jib." 

Inside  of  five  minutes  more  Walter  found  himself 
surrounded  by  half  a  dozen  officers,  including  a 
major  of  marines,  who  questioned  him  closely  re 
garding  his  adventures  and  concerning  the  various 
detachments  of  Spanish  soldiers  that  he  had  en 
countered. 

"You've  been  through  a  good  deal,  lad,"  said 
the  major,  slapping  Walter  on  the  shoulder.  "  I 
dare  say  you  wouldn't  like  to  go  through  it  again." 

"  No,  indeed  !  The  Spaniards  are  —  are  brutes  !  " 
exclaimed  the  youth.  "  I  only  hope  we  send  them 
from  Cuba  a-flying.  I  think  they  and  the  Cubans 
must  have  been  fighting  for  the  past  three  years 
like  a  lot  of  cats  and  dogs.  It's  high  time  Uncle 
Sam  took  a  hand."  This  reply  brought  forth  a 
hearty  laugh  from  those  gathered  around.  Wal 
ter,  young  as  he  was,  had  hit  the  nail  right  on  the 
head,  as  later  events  proved. 

The  major  of   marines  did  not  see  how  the  lad 


IN   A    SPANISH   PRISON  257 

could  be  transferred  to  the  Brooklyn,  which  was 
a  good  many  miles  off,  in  the  direction  of  Santi 
ago.  "  You'll  have  to  remain  here  until  some  boat 
bound  for  Commodore  Schley's  flagship  chances 
along,"  he  said.  "  At  present  only  the  Marble- 
head,  Smvanee,  and  Porter  are  here,  but  others  are 
coming  and  going  constantly." 

"And  what  of  the  army  of  invasion?"  asked 
Walter,  with  keen  interest. 

"  I  believe  it  has  already  left  Key  West.  I 
know  it  started  from  Tampa  several  days  ago." 

"  Was  the  Seventy-first  New  York  with  the 
troops  ?  " 

"  They  were.     Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

"  My  brother  is  a  member  of  that  regiment. 
Hurrah  !  He'll  be  down  here  soon,"  concluded 
Walter. 

He  was  now  dismissed,  and  lost  no  time  in  hunt 
ing  up  one  of  the  marines'  cooks,  who  speedily 
filled  him  up  with  meat,  bread  and  butter,  and 
coffee.  "  We're  not  living  like  kings,  you  see," 
said  the  cook,  but  grinning  to  see  how  the  food 
disappeared. 

"You're  living  like  kings  in  comparison  to  the 
way  the  Cubans  and  the  Spaniards  are  living.  If 


258  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

the  army  comes  up  and  besieges  Santiago,  I'll  wager 
the  city  will  go  hungry  in  no  time,"  returned  the 
boy. 

During  the  balance  of  the  day  the  marines  were 
kept  busy  resisting  several  additional  attacks  from 
the  Spaniards.  The  onslaughts  were  heavy  and 
determined,  but  each  time  the  enemy  was  beaten 
back,  and  at  nightfall  Old  Glory  still  waved  from, 
the  flagstaff  where  it  had  originally  been  run  up. 
A  foothold  had  been  gained  by  our  side  which  was 
not  to  be  taken  from  us. 

Walter  had  selected  a  cosy  corner  to  rest  in  and 
was  sleeping  soundly  when  a  sudden  alarm  rang 
out.  "  The  Dons  !  They  are  coming  over  a  thou 
sand  strong  !  To  arms,  everybody  !  "  And  then 
came  a  grand  rush. 

The  report  was  true  ;  the  Spanish  column  had 
organized  a  midnight  attack,  feeling  they  knew  the 
ground  much  better  in  the  dark  than  would  their 
opponents.  On  they  came,  yelling  like  demons, 
while  the  marines  stood  their  ground  firmly  and 
fearlessly. 

"  I  must  do  my  share  of  fighting,"  thought  the 
boy,  and  bounced  up  with  the  rest.  He  had  al 
ready  been  supplied  with  a  carbine  and  ammuni- 


IN   A  SPANISH   PRISON  259 

tion,  and  now  he  lost  no  time  in  attaching  himself 
to  the  nearest  company  at  hand.  "  Don't  send  me 
back,  captain  ;  I  can  shoot  as  well  as  the  rest,  I 
think." 

"  All  right,  lad,  come  on,"  was  the  answer. 
"  Company,  attention  !  By  columns  of  fours  — -  for 
ward,  march  !  "  And  away  they  went,  up  a  small 
hill.  Then  came  the  order  to  halt,  and  the  com 
pany  broke  up  into  a  broad  skirmish  line.  "Take 
aim  !  Fire  !  "  And  then  and  there  Walter  did  his 
first  actual  fighting  for  Uncle  Sam  and  our  own 
glorious  stars  and  stripes. 

The  determined  front  shown  by  our  marines  non 
plussed  the  Spaniards  for  a  few  minutes,  and  they 
came  to  a  halt.  But  then  they  advanced  again,  and 
the  fire  from  each  side  became  hot  and  irregular. 

The  battle  had  thus  waged  for  the  best  part  of 
an  hour,  and  the  Americans  felt  that  they  must 
be  beaten  back  by  sheer  force  of  numbers,  when 
reinforcements  came  up,  and  in  addition  one  of 
the  warships  steamed  close  to  shore,  and  threw 
the  rays  of  her  powerful  searchlight  upon  the 
enemy.  As  soon  as  the  Spaniards  were  located 
the  warship  trained  its  rapid-firing  guns  inland, 
and  then  the  enemy  beat  a  hasty  retreat. 


260  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Hurrah  !  The  fight  is  ours  I  "  shouted  Walter, 
enthusiastically.  "  See  them  run  !  " 

"  It  was  lucky  for  us  the  warship  came  up,"  put 
in  a  marine  beside  him.  "Those  dagos  ain't  going 
to  give  ground  without  a  big  fight,  that's  certain." 

It  was  nearly  daylight  when  the  company  re 
turned  to  the  camp  and  was  dismissed.  Walter 
was  more  worn  out  than  ever,  but  too  excited  to 
sleep.  "  At  present  I'd  just  as  lief  be  a  marine," 
he  observed  to  his  side  partner  in  the  contest. 

"  Oh,  don't  worry,  your  ships  will  have  their 
hands  full  when  Cervera  takes  it  into  his  head  to 
come  out  and  fight,"  was  the  answer.  "  You'll 
have  no  such  walkover  as  Dewey  had  at  Manila  — 
I'll  promise  you  that." 

At  noon  a  lieutenant  of  marines  came  up  to 
where  Walter  stood,  watching  a  drill  which  was 
in  progress.  "  Are  you  Walter  Russell,  of  the 
Brooklyn?"  he  asked. 

"  I  am,  sir,"  and  Walter  saluted. 

"  Then  you  had  better  hurry  down  to  the  shore. 
There  is  a  steam  launch  there,  and  I  heard  the 
officer  in  command  say  he  was  bound  for  the  Iowa 
and  the  Brooklyn.  If  you  want  to  get  on  your 
ship,  I  presume  he  will  take  you  along." 


IN    A    SPANISH   PRISON  261 

Walter  waited  to  hear  no  more,  but  ran  for  the 
landing-place  with  all  possible  speed.  The  boat 
had  come  in  with  despatches  and  was  to  leave 
again  inside  of  ten  minutes.  The  officer  in  charge 
was  close  at  hand,  and  the  youth's  situation  was 
speedily  explained. 

"  All  right,  I'll  take  you,"  was  the  brief  answer. 
"  Go  aboard  and  forward."  And  the  officer  turned 
away.  Walter  did  as  directed ;  and  a  few  min 
utes  later  the  steam  launch  left  the  landing-place 
and  steamed  down  Guantanamo  Bay  toward  the 
ocean,  or  to  be  more  particular  perhaps,  the 
Caribbean  Sea. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

BACK  TO  THE  "  BROOKLYN "  AGAIN 

THE  steam  launch  was  the  neatest  craft  of  the 
kind  Walter  had  ever  seen,  and  he  had  come  in 
contact  with  a  great  number  while  sailing  on  Lake 
Erie.  It  was  fifty-five  feet  long,  about  twelve  feet 
wide,  and  as  beautiful  a  boat  as  a  designer  could 
plan.  It  was  manned  by  eight  stalwart  men,  all 
well  drilled  to  their  duties,  and  carried  in  addition 
six  marines,  each  of  whom  was  a  sharpshooter,  and 
also  a  rapid-firing  gun  of  small  caliber. 

The  launch  rode  the  waves  like  a  thing  of  life 
and  easily  made  ten  miles  an  hour.  Soon  Guan- 
tanamo  was  left  behind,  and  they  began  to  creep 
up  the  coast  in  the  direction  of  Baiquiri.  In  the 
bow  was  a  lookout,  who  had  a  marine  glass  which 
was  constantly  turned  shoreward. 

"  A  flag  !  "  said  the  lookout,  about  noontime,  and 
immediately  the  launch  came  to  a  stop. 

262 


BACK   TO    THE    "  BROOKLYN  "    AGAIN  263 

"  Where  is  it,  Parkliurst  ?  "  asked  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  craft. 

"  Yonder,  just  below  that  stretch  of  rocks,  sir," 
answered  the  lookout,  and  handed  over  his  glasses. 
The  commander  of  the  launch  took  a  long  look, 
then  ordered  the  craft  turned  to  starboard,  and 
they  steamed  into  a  little  harbor  not  a  great  dis 
tance  from  a  tiny  Cuban  settlement.  A  small  boat 
was  thrown  out,  the  commander  and  two  launch 
hands  leaped  in,  and  it  at  once  advanced.  Then 
those  on  the  larger  craft  saw  a  dozen  men  rush 
from  the  shelter  of  some  brush,  one  holding  a 
white  and  the  other  a  Cuban  flag.  , 

The  small  boat  was  beached  in  true  nautical 
style,  and  the  Cubans  and  Americans  entered  into 
a  conversation  lasting  the  best  part  of  half  an  hour. 
Letters  were  exchanged,  and  then  the  party  broke 
up  as  rapidly  as  it  had  gathered.  Although  Walter 
did  not  know  it,  the  letter  delivered  by  the  Ameri 
can  commander  was  for  the  rebel  leader,  General 
Calixto  Garcia,  while  that  received  in  return  was 
for  Admiral  Sampson  and  General  Shafter.  All 
related  to  the  landing  of  the  army  of  invasion, 
now  so  close  at  hand. 

The   conference   over,  the  launch  darted  on  her 


264  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

way,  and  dinner  was  served,  to  the  officers  and 
sharpshooters  first,  and  then  to  the  crew  and  Wal 
ter.  "  Oh,  we're  doing  some  fine  work  along  this 
coast,"  said  one  of  the  crew  to  the  youth,  while 
eating.  "  Those  Dons  will  be  greatly  astonished 
some  day  —  when  our  boys  in  blue  fall  on  'em." 

It  was  night  before  the  Brooklyn  came  into  view, 
looking  exactly  as  she  had  when  Walter  had  so 
unceremoniously  left  her.  How  the  youth's  heart 
beat  at  the  sight  of  his  ship  !  How  would  those 
on  board  receive  him,  and  what  would  they  say 
when  his  story  was  told  ? 

"  Russell  !  "  exclaimed  the  officer  of  the  deck, 
when  he  came  up  over  the  side.  "  Why,  we 
all  thought  you  had  fallen  overboard  and  been 
drowned." 

"  I  came  pretty  near  being  drowned,"  was  the 
reply.  "  You  can't  imagine,  sir,  how  glad  I  am  to 
get  back  !  " 

"  But  where  have  you  been  ?  " 

"I've  been  on  the  Merrimac,  among  the  Cubans 
and  the  Spaniards,  and  in  a  Spanish  prison,  besides 
being  down  to  Guantanamo  Bay  with  the  marines 
from  the  Panther,  sir." 

"  Great  Scott,  boy,  do  you  expect  me  to  believe  all 


BACK   TO    THE    "BROOKLYN"    AGAIN  265 

that  ! "  burst  out  the  officer,  in  sheer  astonish 
ment. 

"As  you  will,  sir;  it's  true,  though." 

"  But  —  but  —  let  me  see  ;  you  said  you  were  on 
the  Merrimac?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"And  on  shore  among  the  Cubans,  and  then 
among  the  enemy  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"And  then  among  the  marines  at  Guantanamo 
Bay?" 

"Exactly,  sir.  I  escaped  from  a  Spanish  prison, 
and  was  lucky  enough  to  fall  in  with  the  marines 
by  accident.  I  fought  with  them  too,  sir." 

"  Russell,  after  you  disappeared  Surgeon  Barker 
said  you  had  been  sick  —  had  been  troubled  with 
some  sort  of  fever  in  your  head.  Don't  you  be 
lieve  you  went  out  of  your  head  entirely,  and 
imagined  all  this?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  Well,  I  reckon  that's  the  truth  of  the  matter, 
and  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  turn  yourself 
over  to  the  surgeon  again  for  further  treatment. 
How  is  your  head?"  And  the  officer  of  the  deck 
placed  his  hand  on  Walter's  forehead.  "  Ah,  rather 


266  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

hot,   as   I  thought.     You   had   better   go   to  bed/ 
And  he  turned  away. 

"  I  don't  think  I'll  go  to  bed  just  yet,"  mur 
mured  Walter,  and  lost  no  time  in  reaching  the 
berth  deck.  Here  he  came  up  behind  Si  and  Caleb 
playing  one  of  their  favorite  games  of  checkers, 
while  Paul  stood  looking  on. 

"  Crown  that  man,"  Caleb  was  saying,  when  he 
chanced  to  glance  up,  "  Walter  !  or  is  it  a  ghost  ?  " 
he  fairly  yelled,  and  leaped  up,  scattering  board 
and  men  in  all  directions.  "  Walter,  where  on 
earth  did  you  come  from  ? "  And  he  reached  out 
his  hand. 

"  It  is  Walter,  back  from  the  grave  !  "  ejaculated 
Si,  and  grasped  the  other  hand,  while  Paul  caught 
the  youth  by  the  neck. 

"  We  thought  you  were  drowned  !  "  said  all  three, 
simultaneously. 

"  They  said  you  had  gone  out  of  your  mind, 
and  committed  suicide,"  added  Paul. 

"  Well,  I  didn't  commit  suicide,  and  I'm  as  well 
as  ever,"  was  the  merry  return.  "But  —  but  —  I 
don't  believe  you'll  think  I'm  telling  the  truth 
when  I  give  you  my  story." 

"  That  depends  on  what  sort  of  a  yarn  you  spin," 


BACK    TO    THE    "  BROOKLYN  "    AGAIN  267 

returned  Caleb,  dryly.  "Where  have  you  been  — 
sinking  Cervera's  fleet  single-handed?" 

"  Not  quite,  but  I've  been  pretty  close  to  the 
fleet,  and  pretty  close  to  the  Spaniards.  "  And 
dropping  on  a  box  Walter  told  his  story,  inter 
rupted  every  few  minutes  by  some  newcomer  who 
advanced  to  shake  him  by  the  hand,  for  since  join 
ing  them  he  had  made  many  friends  among  the 
jackies  and  petty  officers. 

"  I  don't  wonder  the  officer  of  the  deck  wouldn't 
believe  you,  lad,"  remarked  Caleb,  when  he  had 
finished.  "  It's  a  big  yarn ;  beats  Jonah  and  the 
whale  all  to  pieces  —  not  but  what  that's  a  true 
story,  seeing  as  how  it's  in  the  Good  Book.  You 
are  certain  you  wasn't  taken  down  with  the  fever 
while  you  were  on  shore  ?  " 

"Not  enough  to  lose  my  mind." 

"  I  believe  Walter,"  put  in  Si.  "  But  if  I  were 
you  I  wouldn't  tell  this  tale  to  the  others,"  he 
added  in  a  lower  tone.  "  They'd  be  jealous  of 
you,  you  know." 

"  I  don't  care,  I'm  telling  the  simple  truth," 
answered  Walter,  stoutly. 

That  evening  word  was  passed  to  him  to  re 
port  at  the  captain's  cabin,  and  he  went,  just  as 


268  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

soon  as  he  could  slip  on  his  best  suit  of  clothing, 
wash  up,  and  comb  his  hair,  for  on  board  of  every 
man-o'-war  a  visit  to  "  headquarters "  is  a  big 
thing  to  any  of  the  crew,  and  a  "  sprucing  up  "  is, 
consequently,  indispensable. 

This  was  the  first  time  Walter  had  visited  the 
cabin  of  the  Brooklyn,  and  the  elegant  surround 
ings  immediately  caught  his  eye.  But  in  days 
gone  by,  before  he  had  been  compelled  to  live 
with  the  miserly  Job  Dowling,  he  had  been  used 
to  a  home  furnished  just  as  handsomely,  and 
therefore  the  surroundings  did  not  overawe  him. 

There  was  a  small  table  in  the  centre  of  the 
cabin,  at  one  end  of  which  sat  Commodore  Schley, 
looking  over  a  map  of  the  Cuban  coast.  At  the 
other  end  of  the  table  sat  Captain  Cook,  the  firm  and 
strict,  yet  well-beloved  commander  of  the  flagship. 

"  You  sent  for  me,  sir,"  said  Walter,  as  he 
came  in,  "  toed  the  mark,"  and  saluted. 

"You  are  Walter  Russell?"  asked  Captain  Cook, 
while  Commodore  Schley  dropped  the  map  and 
looked  on  with  interest. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"You  have  been  absent  from  the  ship  ever  since 
June  the  second,  or  third?" 


BACK   TO   THE    "BROOKLYN'''    AGAIN  269 

"  Yes,  sir.  But  I  couldn't  help  it.  I  was  sick 
and  fell  overboard,  —  and  I've  had  a  whole  lot  of 
adventures  since." 

"  So  the  officer  of  the  deck  tells  me,"  answered 
the  captain,  dryly.  He  looked  at  the  commander 
of  the  squadron.  "  Commodore  Schley,  would  you 
like  to  ask  Russell  any  questions?" 

At  this  the  commodore  smiled  and  pulled  medi 
tatively  at  the  little  goatee  he  wore.  "  Russell, 
you  can  tell  us  your  story  in  detail.  But  do  not 
take  over  ten  minutes,"  he  said,  and  covered  his 
eyes  with  his  hands,  as  if  in  deep  thought  —  one 
of  his  favorite  attitudes. 

Standing  as  before  and  still  "toeing  the  mark," 
Walter  told  his  story  again,  simply  but  forcefully. 
Whether  his  hearers  were  listening  or  not  he 
could  not  tell,  for  not  a  word  was  said  until  he 
had  finished. 

Then,  however,  came  a  flood  of  questions  con 
cerning  the  spot  at  which  he  had  landed  after 
leaving  the  Merrimac,  the  names  of  the  various 
Cuban  and  Spanish  leaders  that  he  had  en 
countered,  and  the  names  of  the  marines  with 
which  he  had  fought.  He  was  also  questioned 
about  the  trails  and  their  conditions. 


270  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  Could  loaded  wagons  get  over  them,  in  your 
estimation  ?  "  asked  Commodore  Scliley. 

"  Not  very  well,  sir.  In  one  place  I  saw  an 
ox-team  with  a  load  of  fruit,  and  the  load  was  in 
danger  of  being  dumped  every  minute.  Some  of 
the  paths  are  not  fit  for  a  pack-mule  to  use." 

"  What  of  the  Cubans  you  met  ?  Were  they 
well  armed  ?  " 

"A  few  of  them  had  guns,  but  most  of  them 
had  nothing  but  their  machetes,  sir.  Ammunition, 
I  was  told,  was  very  scarce." 

"What  of  food?" 

"That  was  scarce,  too."  And  Walter  smiled. 
"  A  good  eater  would  starve  to  death  on  what 
both  the  Spaniards  and  the  Cubans  have  to  offer." 

"  Do  the  Spaniards  expect  an  army  of  invasion 
-  that  is,  did  you  hear  any  talk  on  the  subject  ?  " 

"  I  caught  a  few  words,  sir.  I  cannot  speak 
Spanish  myself." 

Commodore  Scliley  mused  for  a  moment.  "  That 
is  all,"  he  said,  addressing  Captain  Cook.  "The 
boy  has  certainly  had  some  remarkable  adventures. 
He  is  better  off  than  poor  Lieutenant  Hobsoii." 

"  That's  true,"  responded  the  commander  of  the 
Brooklyn.  He  turned  to  Walter.  "  You  can  go, 


BACK   TO   THE    "BROOKLYN"    AGAIN  271 

Russell ;    if  we  want  you  again,  we  will  send  for 
you." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  was  the  youth's  reply,  and,  saluting, 
he  turned  and  left  the  cabin.  The  interview  had 
been  a  very  formal  one,  but  he  was  proud  to 
think  that  he  had  come  into  personal  contact  with 
his  gallant  captain  and  his  equally  gallant  com 
modore. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF  THE  SANTIAGO  BATTERIES 

WHEN  Walter  returned  to  his  friends  be  was 
immediately  surrounded  and  asked  what  had  hap 
pened  in  the  cabin.  "•  Did  the  commodore  slap 
you  on  the  back  and  call  you  a  bully  boy?  "  queried 
Si. 

"  Well,  hardly,"  answered  Walter,  with  a  quiet 
smile.  "  They  plied  me  with  questions  and  said 
I  had  had  some  remarkable  adventures  ;  that's  all." 

"  Didn't  praise  you  ?  "  queried  Caleb. 

"No." 

"  Didn't  rush  up  and  shake  hands  even  ? "  put 
in  Paul. 

"  Not  at  all.  I  saluted  and  toed  the  mark,  and 
kept  toeing  it  until  I  left." 

At  this  Paul's  face  fell.  "  Why,  I  thought  you 
would  be  right  in  it,  Walter,"  he  said. 

"I  guess  you've  been  reading  some  dime  and 
half-dime  colored-cover  novels,  Paul.  I  imagine 
that  is  the  way  they  do  in  such  books." 

27? 


BOMBARDMENT    OF    THE   SANTIAGO    BATTERIES      273 

"  That's  it.  Why,  I've  got  a  story  about '  Dewey's 
Boy  Bodyguard.'  The  hero  in  that  overheard  a 
plot  against  Dewey,  and  Dewey  clasped  him  to  his 
breast  and  made  him  a  captain  of  marines." 

"  Indeed!     And  you  believe  such  a  yarn?  " 

"Dewey  couldn't  make  the  boy  a  captain  of 
marines,  not  if  he  was  an  admiral  twice  over,"  put 
in  Caleb.  "  Those  yarns  are  pure  trash.  Paul, 
you  had  better  study  some  good  book  on  gunnery, 
and  try  to  become  a  gun  captain." 

u  I  thought  the  story  was  slightly  overdrawn," 
said  Paul,  growing  red  in  the  face.  "  There  is 
another  about  the  '  Boy  Hero  of  Havana,'  who 
saves  General  Lee's  life  at  the  time  the  Americans 
are  getting  out  of  Havana.  I  suppose  that  is 
untrue,  too." 

"  To  be  sure,  Paul.  General  Lee  wras  in  no 
great  danger  at  that  time.  Of  course  some  of  the 
sensational  papers  had  to  make  the  most  of  it, 
and  they  reported  that  he  was  travelling  around 
with  a  six-shooter  in  his  pocket,  and  a  detective 
dogging  his  footsteps.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he 
walked  around  with  nothing  but  a  white  cotton 
umbrella,  to  keep  the  sun  off." 

"  I'll  burn  the  whole  batch  of  colored  stuff  up," 


274  FIUHTINO    IX   01  BAN    WATKRS 

cried  the  apprentice  ;  and  he  did,  at  the  big  galley 
tire.  No  one  on  board  ever  caught  him  reading 
dime  and  half-dime  novels  again. 

Although  the  marines  had  established  themselves 
fairly  well  at  and  near  Guantanamo,  the  Spaniards 
were  determined  to  drive  them  otY,  and  to  hold 
this  landing  and  a  number  of  others,  several  of 
the  warships  were  kept  busy  bombarding  the 
enemy's  strongholds  and  in  tiring  with  Catling 
guns  at  the  Spanish  soldiers  whenever  they  put 
into  appearance  along  the  coast. 

The  day  after  Walter  came  on  board  the  ./»V.K>.fr- 
fjf*,  which  remained  on  the  blockade  otY  5>a.ntiago 
Hay,  the  TVxii*,  J/tirMr/W^f,  and  $u(c\int<f  ran  into 
Guantanamo  Hay  and  attacked  the  fort  at  T.ii- 
manenu  a  small  village  not  far  from  Guantanamo. 
The  attack  began  at  two  o'clock  in  the  aftenuvn, 
and  in  less  than  two  hours  the  fort  was  in  ruins 
and  those  who  had  garrisoned  it  were  tlceing  inland 
for  their  lives. 

Caimanera  was  thus  taken,  but  to  hold  it  was 
as  dirticult  as  it  was  to  hold  Guantanamo.  Many 
of  the  people  were  in  sym^Jthy  with  the  ^j\uush 
gvn eminent,  and  some  went  so  far  as  to  soak  the 
streets  aud  some  of  the  houses  with  coal  oil,  that 


BOMBARDMENT    OF    THE   SANTIAGO    BATTERIES      275 

the  town  might  be  burned  down  at  a  minute's 
notice. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Admiral  Sampson  de 
termined  to  make  another  attack  on  the  outer 
defences  of  Santiago  Harbor,  only  sparing  Morro 
Castle,  in  which  it  was  understood  that  Lieutenant 
Hobson  and  his  men  were  confined.  It  was  weary 
waiting  for  the  transports  to  arrive  with  the  army, 
and  something  must  be  done  to  tear  down  the 
numerous  fortifications  the  Spaniards  were  con 
structing. 

The  orders  for  the  bombardment  were  issued  on 
Wednesday  evening  ;  and  at  once  a  subdued  but 
excited  talk  took  place  among  the  various  crews 
of  the  blockading  squadrons,  which  now  numbered 
the  following  ships,  along  with  a  few  others  of 
lesser  importance  :  - 

First  squadron,  under  the  direct  command  of 
Admiral  Sampson,  the  flagship  New  York,  battle 
ships  Iowa  and  Oregon,  protected  cruiser  New 
Orleans,  gunboat  Mayflower,  torpedo  boat  Porter, 
and  the  sprightly  Scorpion.  The  second  squadron, 
under  Commodore  Schley,  embraced  the  flagship 
Brooklyn*  battleships  Massachusetts  and  Texas,  and 
the  Marblehead  and  Vixen.  Other  vessels,  such 


276  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

as  the  Indiana,  Dolphin,  and  Suwanee,  were  kept 
busy  plying  between  the  blockading  fleet  and 
Guantanamo  Bay  and  surroundings. 

It  was  half-past  three  in  the  morning  when  the 
men  were  called  up  and  served  with  coffee. 
Among  the  first  on  hand  was  Walter.  u  Xow  for 
a  first  real  use  of  our  gun,"  he  said  to  Si.  "I've 
been  aching  for  this  ever  since  I  enlisted." 

Before  four  o'clock  came  the  call  to  quarters, 
and  the  men  ran  to  their  various  stations,  and 
stripped  for  action,  most  of  them  wearing  little 
more  than  an  undershirt  and  a  pair  of  trousers. 
The  weather  was  frightfully  hot,  and  the  interior 
of  the  cruiser  was  little  better  than  a  bake-oven. 
Possibly  this  was  one  reason  why  the  thought 
ful  admiral  planned  the  attack  for  so  early  in  the 
day. 

Silently  the  warships  steamed  for  the  mouth 
of  the  harbor,  and  took  up  their  various  positions 
in  a  grand  semicircle,  the  heavy  fighting  ships  in 
the  centre,  and  the  torpedo  boats  on  the  ends,  ready 
to  take  care  of  any  infantry  fire,  should  the  Span 
iards  hurry  their  soldiers  to  the  shore.  The  big 
ships  kept  at  a  distance  of  three  thousand  yards  — 
not  quite  two  miles. 


BOMBARDMENT   OF   THE   SANTIAGO   BATTEKIES      277 

"  We're  a  long  way  off,"  observed  Walter,  as  he 
assisted  in  loading  the  "  Polly,"  as  Caleb  had  named 
his  gun. 

"  Twenty-nine  hundred  yards  !  "  came  the  report 
from  the  range-finder  ;  and  the  crew  went  to  work 
to  elevate  the  gun  accordingly.  In  the  meantime, 
the  magazines  had  been  opened,  the  ammunition 
hoists  set  in  motion,  and  powder,  shot,  and  shell 
were  delivered  everywhere  from  barbette  to  fight 
ing-top. 

"  We're  near  enough  to  blow  'em  sky-high  if  we 
strike  'em  right,"  muttered  the  old  gunner,  who, 
with  the  smell  of  powder  in  the  air,  was  in  his 
element.  "How  about  that  hose,  Stuben?"  he 
went  on  to  the  hoseman. 

"  Dot  hose  it's  all  right  alretty,"  answered  Carl 
Stuben,  a  round-faced  German,  who  was  an  Amer 
ican  citizen,  even  though  he  did  speak  the  lan 
guage  but  brokenly.  Heretofore  Walter  had  had 
but  little  to  do  with  the  man,  yet  they  got  along 
very  well  together. 

It  was  too  dark  to  begin  firing,  and  for  half  an 
hour  the  ships  lay  quiet,  every  man  ready  to  obey 
a  command  the  instant  it  was  given.  This  was  a 
nerve-trying  test  for  Walter,  who  wondered  how 


278  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

the  thing  would  sound  when  all  of  the  ships  began 
firing. 

Slowly  it  grew  lighter,  and  the  men  became 
more  anxious.  The  guns  were  trained  on  the 
shore  batteries  to  the  west  of  the  harbor  entrance, 
while  other  ships  covered  the  batteries  on  the  east. 

Boom  I  It  was  a  broadside  from  the  New  York, 
directed  against  the  battery  below  El  Morro.  In 
stantly  every  other  warship  present  responded  in  a 
deafening  crash  and  a  shock  to  be  heard  many 
miles  away.  At  once  the  air  became  filled  with 
the  smoke,  and  on  shore  the  dirt  and  masonry  of 
the  batteries  were  seen  to  fly  in  all  directions. 

"  Oh,  my  !  "  gasped  Walter,  as  the  gun  before 
him  belched  forth  its  mass  of  flame  and  smoke. 
"  What  a  noise  !  Did  —  did  we  hit  anything  ?  " 

"  I  hope  we  did,"  answered  Steve  Colton,  the 
second  gun  captain,  laconically  ;  and  then  came 
the  order  to  unlock  the  breech  of  the  gun.  As  the 
breech  fell  back  a  cloud  of  smoke  swirled  into  the 
sponson  hood,  impregnated  with  the  odor  of  salt 
petre,  which  caused  Walter  and  several  of  the 
others  to  cough  violently.  "  Never  mind  ;  you'll 
get  used  to  it  before  you  die,"  went  on  Colton. 

The  gun  being  opened,  Carl   Stuben  caught  up 


BOMBARDMENT    OF   THE    SANTIAGO   BATTERIES       279 

his  hose-pipe,  turned  on  the  nozzle  and  sent  a  stream 
of  cold  water  ^hrough  the  jjun,  to  both  clean  and 
cool  the  interior.  By  the  time  this  was  accom 
plished  the  hoist  had  another  shell  ready,  and  this 
was  shoved  in  by  the  mechanical  rammer.  Brown 
prismatic  powder  followed,  with  a  small  quantity 
of  black  prismatic  powder  behind  it,  as  a  primer. 
Then  the  breech-block  was  swung  into  position  and 
locked  again,  and  the  electrical  connections  were 
adjusted. 

All  this  had  been  done  almost  in  the  time  it 
takes  to  tell  it,  but  the  next  shot  was  not  dis 
charged  at  once,  since  the  various  gunners  had 
strict  orders  to  take  their  time  and  make  every 
discharge  count.  It  was  not  like  a  pitched  battle 
where  every  moment  counted. 

But  though  the  gunners  took  their  time,  there 
were  so  many  ships  and  so  many  guns  that  the  fir 
ing  was  continuous  —  a  spiteful  cracking  of  rapid- 
firing  guns,  mingled  with  the  thunder-claps  of  the 
gigantic  thirteen-inch  guns  and  the  solid  banging 
of  the  eight-inch  and  eight  and  ten  pounders. 

"  This  is  war  and  no  mistake,"  remarked  Walter. 
In  ten  minutes  his  undershirt  had  become  as  black 
as  a  stove-cloth,  and  he  himself  looked  almost  like 


280  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

a  negro.  In  the  meantime  the  perspiration  was 
streaming  from  every  pore  of  his  body. 

"  War  !  "  shouted  Caleb.  "  Why,  lad,  this  is 
nothing.  If  only  Cervera  would  come  out,  then 
you  would  see  some  fun." 

The  order  had  been  passed  to  lessen  the  charges 
in  the  big  guns  and  elevate  them  more,  in  order  to 
secure  a  plunging  fire.  The  effect  of  this  change 
in  tactics  was  soon  apparent,  as  shot  and  shell 
began  to  drop  directly  into  the  Spanish  strong 
holds  or  behind  them.  Soon  one  of  the  batteries 
was  completely  silenced,  and  a  cheer  went  up  from 
the  warship  nearest  to  it. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  the  Spaniards  took 
this  attack  quietly.  No  sooner  had  the  American 
warships  opened  than  they  returned  the  fire  with 
equal  fierceness.  But  although  at  an  elevation, 
and  using  guns  which  were  stationary,  their  aim 
was  wild,  and  only  a  few  of  their  shots  took 
effect. 

As  one  battery  after  another  was  silenced,  several 
of  the  warships  elevated  their  guns  still  more  and 
put  in  large  charges  of  powder,  and,  as  a  result, 
one  shell  was  carried  far  up  the  harbor  to  where 
the  Vizcaya  lay  and  burst  directly  over  her  deck, 


BOMBARDMENT    OF    THE   SANTIAGO   BATTERIES      281 

doing  considerable  damage  and  injuring  several 
sailors  and  an  under-officer. 

Presently  a  terrific  explosion  rent  the  air.  One 
of  the  shots  from  the  Texas  had  landed  in  a  powder 
magazine  and  sent  it  skyward.  The  spectacle  thus 
caused  was  magnificent,  and  for  a  moment  all  in 
the  squadrons  watched  the  timbers,  rocks,  and  dirt 
as  they  sailed  through  the  air,  some  coming  down 
inland  and  some  falling  with  loud  splashes  into 
the  sea. 

"  That's  a  shot  worth  making !  "  cried  Caleb. 
"  Hurrah  for  the  man  as  trained  that  gun  ! " 

And  the  cheer  was  given  with  a  will. 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

IN    WHICH    THE    ARMY    OF    INVASION    ARRIVES 

"MAYBE  I  ain't  hot  and  tired,  Walter.  I  could 
sleep  standing  up  and  go  in  an  ice-house  and  do  it." 

It  was  Si  who  spoke,  as  he  was  washing  him 
self  in  a  bucket  of  water  set  on  the  gun-track. 
The  water  had  been  fresh  when  Si  began  his 
ablutions  and  was  now  dirty,  but  the  Yankee 
youth  was  still  far  from  clean,  for  gun  smoke  and 
gun  dirt  have  a  disagreeable  knack  of  getting 
into  the  pores  of  one's  skin. 

The  bombardment  had  lasted  over  an  hour  and 
every  land  battery  had  been  silenced.  Yet,  as  the 
American  ships  drew  away,  one  or  two  guns  spat 
out  spitefully  after  them. 

"You'll  feel  .all  right  in  an  hour  or  two,  Si,'' 
answered  Walter.  "  Oh,  but  wasn't  it  glorious ! 
I  could  stand  such  bombarding  for  a  week. 
What  a  sight  it  was  when  that  powder  magazine 
went  up." 

282 


IN    WHICH    THE   ARMY    OF    INVASION    ARRIVES      283 

"  Such  a  bombardment  costs  Uncle  Sam  a  good 
many  thousand  dollars,"  put  in  Caleb,  leaving  the 
gun  to  get  a  drink  of  water  from  the  tub  stand 
ing  by.  "  A  week  of  it  would  put  a  big  hole  in 
his  pocket,  large  as  it  is." 

"  I  presume  that  is  so,  Walton.  But  say,  why 
don't  we  run  in  and  finish  things,  now  we  have 
knocked  the  batteries  out  ?  " 

"  Better  ask  the  admiral,  lad ;  he's  the  one  who 
knows.  Remember,  we  didn't  touch  Morro  Castle 
nor  that  fortification  on  Smith  Cay,  —  and  those 
Spanish  warships  are  somewhere  around  the  bend, 
out  of  sight.  I  reckon  the  time  ain't  quite  ripe 
for  running  in  yet.  If  we  run  in  now  and  do  up 
that  Spanish  fleet,  we  haven't  men  enough  to  take 
Santiago  itself.  We  must  wait  until  Shafter 
arrives  with  his  army." 

"But  why  did  we  go  at  them  at  all  for,  then?" 

"  To  keep  'em  from  becoming  too  well  fortified. 
Now  they'll  have  their  hands  full  for  several  days 
repairing  damages,  and  in  the  meantime  our  army 
may  arrive  —  at  least,  I  hope  it  does." 

Si  had  been  right  about  the  heat.  Even  in  the 
United  States  we  had  a  spell  of  uncommonly  hot 
weather,  and  down  here,  under  the  tropical  sun, 


284  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

it  was  "  sizzling,"  as  Walter  expressed  it.  During 
the  noon  hour  no  one  thought  of  going  on  deck 
unless  it  was  absolutely  necessary.  Refreshments 
of  any  kind  were  at  a  premium,  and  when  a 
society  known  as  the  Colonial  Dames  sent  on  a 
number  of  boxes  of  oranges  and  lemons  for  dis 
tribution,  the  jackies  could  hardly  contain  them 
selves  for  joy.  Cuban  sugar  was  easily  obtained, 
and  lemonade  and  orangeade  became  the  order  of 
the  hour. 

Having  been  away  on  shore,  Walter  had  not 
felt  the  monotony  on  shipboard  so  much,  but 
those  who  had  been  on  the  blockade  for  nearly 
three  weeks  felt  fearfully  bored,  especially  as  read 
ing  matter  was  scarce.  Every  scrap  of  a  news 
paper  was  saved  and  passed  around,  and  poor 
Paul  was  collared  and  tossed  up  in  a  canvas 
hammock  for  having  burnt  the  penny-dreadfuls 
previously  mentioned. 

"  Mail !  mail !  mail  !  "  such  was  the  welcome  cry 
which  rang  through  the  Brooklyn,  several  days 
after  the  bombardment  just  described.  The  news 
caused  a  commotion,  and  all  who  could  rushed  on 
deck  and  peered  eagerly  over  the  side  as  several 
heavy  mail  sacks  were  hoisted  on  board.  Hardly 


IN    WHICH   THE   ARMY   OF    INVASION   AKEIVES      285 

anybody  could  wait  for  the  mail  to  be  distrib 
uted. 

"Three  letters  for  me,  and  a  bundle  of  news 
papers  !  "  cried  Walter,  joyfully.  "  Here's  luck 
and  no  mistake."  He  studied  the  various  post 
marks  for  a  moment.  "  One  from  Boston,  in  my 
uncle's  handwriting  ;  one  from  Tampa,  Florida,  and 
that's  from  Ben  ;  and  one  from  —  yes  —  Hong  Kong, 
China,  and  that  must  be  from  dear  old  Larry. 
Now  which  shall  I  read  first  ?  Oh,  I  must  hear 
from  Larry  first."  And  dropping  on  deck  he  tore 
open  the  letter  from  the  other  side  of  the  world 
and  perused  it  eagerly. 

"  Well,  I  never  !  "  came  from  him,  a  few  minutes 
later.  "  Si,  Walton,  listen  to  this  !  My  brother 
Larry  was  with  Dewey  at  Manila  and  helped  whip 
the  Dons  !  Oh,  but  Larry's  the  boy,  after  all! 
Just  read  the  letter  for  yourselves."  And  he 
tossed  it  over. 

Ben's  letter  came  next,  a  rather  short  communi 
cation,  for  Ben  had  never  been  much  of  a  boy  to 
write. 

"  I  am  high  private  in  the  best  company  of  the 
Seventy-first  regiment  of  New  York,"  he  wrote. 


286  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

"  We  are  down  here  at  Lakeland,  near  Tampa, 
getting  into  condition  to  invade  Cuba.  At  present 
things  are  slow  and  awfully  hot,  but  we  look  for 
livelier  times  ahead  and  that  keeps  up  our  spirits. 
My  chum,  Gilbert  Pennington,  has  joined  Theodore 
Roosevelt's  Rough  Riders.  I  hope  we  go  to  Cuba 
together. 

"  I  suppose  you  are  quite  a  jack  tar  by  this 
time  and  walk  with  a  regular  swagger.  Larry  is 
now  a  bigger  fellow  than  either  of  us,  for  he  was 
on  the  Olympia,,  Dewey's  flagship,  at  the  battle  of 
Manila  Bay.  He  wrote  me  all  about  it  and  said 
he  would  write  to  you,  too,  so  I  suppose  you 
already  have  the  letter. 

"  Uncle  Job  seems  to  be  coming  around  to  his 
senses  —  with  giving  both  you  and  me  permission 
to  take  care  of  ourselves.  If  I  were  you,  I  would 
not  let  up  on  him  about  going  to  Boston.  Those 
heirlooms  ought  to  be  located,  and  he  is  the  man 
who  must  push  the  work,  even  if  it  does  cost  a 
few  dollars.  I  want  father's  watch,  and  I  am 
sure  you  and  Larry  want  the  wedding  rings. 

"  I  have  made  many  friends  while  in  the  army, 
but  I  also  have  two  enemies,  Gerald  Holgait  and 
D wight  Montgomery,  and  I  am  afraid  that  sooner 


IN    WHICH    THE    ARMY    OF    INVASION    ARRIVES      287 

or  Liter  they  will  try  to  play  me  some  mean  trick. 
However,  I  will  be  on  my  guard  against  them. 
Good-by  and  good  luck  to  you." 

"  I  hope  Ben  does  come  down,"  mused  Walter. 
"And  if  he  has  any  enemies  of  the  Jim  Haskett 
sort  he  had  better  look  out.  And  then  he  turned 
to  the  communication  from  Job  Dowling. 

"  My  dearest  nephew,"  began  the  guardian,  and 
the  term  of  address  made  Walter  smile.  "  Your 
letter  was  a  big  surprise  to  me,  and  I  ain't  over 
it  yet.  That  you  should  meet  that  thief  gets  me, 
and  I  don't  understand  it  nohow.  However,  I 
packed  my  valise  (my  new  one  that  cost  me  a 
dollar  thirty-five,  although  Wilson  says  it  is  worth 
the  money)  and  the  next  day  1  took  the  cars  for 
Boston  on  a  ticket  I  got  at  cut  rates,  although  it 
was  tolerably  dear  even  at  that.  When  I  got  to 
Boston  I  introduced  myself  to  Mr.  Phil  Newell,  the 
one-legged  man  you  used  to  work  for,  and  he  took 
me  to  police  headquarters,  and  now  I  am  stop 
ping  here  at  a  boarding-house,  on  Hammond  Street. 
The  police  sent  a  detective  to  me,  and  he  is  going 
to  find  them  heirlooms  and  that  rascal  of  a  Deck 


288  FIGHTING  IX   CTJBAX   WATERS 

Mumpers,  or  whatever  his  name  is,  or  know  the 
reason  why.  If  he  finds  the  things,  I'm  to  give 
him  two  hundred  dollars  in  cash  ;  if  he  don't,  I 
pay  his  travelling  expenses  and  no  more.  I 
wouldn't  make  such  a  bargain,  but  I  know  all 
you  boys  want  the  things  back  and  I  can't  do  the 
running  after  the  thief.  It's  a  waste  of  money, 
but  it  can't  be  helped.  I  want  to  show  you  and 
Ben  and  Larry  that  your  uncle  means  well  in  spite 
of  what  you  think  of  him. 

"Newell  says  for  me  to  tell  you  he  will  send 
you  a  bundle  of  newspapers.  He  says  he  knows 
how  lonely  life  on  Board  of  a  man-of-war  gets 
sometimes.  I  hope  you  don't  get  hurt,  if  you  get 
into  a  fight  down  in  Cuba.  Keep  out  of  the  sun, 
and  write  when  you  can,  care  of  Newell's  news 
stand —  for  I  stop  there  every  day,  after  the  de 
tective's  report.  The  detective  hopes  to  get  the 
things  back  before  this  week  is  out. 
"  Your  loving  uncle, 

"JOB    DOWLING." 

The  letter  was  a  mere  scrawl,  horribly  mis 
spelled,  and  it  took  Walter  fully  quarter  of  an 
hour  to  decipher  it.  "  Well,  Uncle  Job  is  turn- 


IN    AVHICH   THE   ARMY   OF   INVASION    ARRIVES      289 

ing  over  a  new  leaf,"  he  thought,  as  he  put  it 
away.  "  I  only  hope  that  detective  is  all  right, 
and  don't  hoodwink  him  into  paying  over  his 
money  for  nothing.  I  reckon  the  letters  Ben  and 
I  wrote  him  scared  him  pretty  well,  otherwise  he 
wouldn't  agree  to  pay  two  hundred  dollars  if  the 
heirlooms  are  recovered." 

Caleb  had  read  Larry's  letter  with  much  inter 
est.  One  portion  of  it,  relating  to  the  narrow 
escape  from  disaster  during  the  battle,  interested 
him  not  a  little. 

"  Your  brother  had  a  close  shave,"  he  said.  "To 
fire  a  gun  when  the  breech  is  unlocked  is  a  fearful 
thing." 

"  I  don't  see  how  it  could  happen  on  board  of 
such  a  ship  as  the  Brooklyn,'''  answered  Walter. 
"Everything  works  like  clockwork  here." 

"  You  don't  know  how  a  thing  would  work 
in  the  middle  of  a  battle,  lad.  Men  get  excited, 
and  sometimes  the  jarring  of  the  shots  breaks  the 
electric  connections.  More  than  likely  that  gun 
ner  was  firing  his  piece  by  hand  at  the  time.  I've 
done  the  same,  when  the  electric  connection  gave 
out.  Last  month  I  heard  from  a  friend  of  mine, 
a  gunner  on  the  Neiv  Orleans,  that  used  to  be  a 


290  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAX   WATEKS 

Brazilian  warship.  They  couldn't  get  their  elec 
tric-firing  apparatus  into  shape  nohow,  and  had  to 
do  everything  by  hand,  —  and  that  is  the  time 
accidents  occur.  But  somebody  ought  to  have 
been  watching  that  breech-block  —  your  brother 
or  somebody  else."  And  then  Caleb  turned  away 
to  his  duties. 

Larry  had  written  that  he  was  now  in  Hong 
Kong,  and  did  not  know  whether  he  would  go 
back  to  Dewey's  squadron,  or  return  to  the  United 
States.  "  You'll  hear  from  me  again  soon,  one  way 
or  another,"  he  added  in  a  postscript. 

For  a  day  or  two,  all  of  Walter's  spare  time 
was  spent  over  the  newspapers  his  former  employer 
had  been  kind  enough  to  send  him,  but  drills  and 
other  duties  must  not  be  neglected,  and  now  that 
the  army  of  invasion  was  hourly  expected,  disci 
pline  on  the  warships  became  more  rigid  than 
ever. 

At  last,  one  clear  morning,  a  cry  echoed  and 
reechoed  from  one  warship  to  another  :  — 

"  The  transports  are  in  sight  !  General  Shafter's 
army  has  arrived  !" 

What  a  shouting,  cheering,  and  yelling  broke 
loose  !  Jackies  flew  to  the  deck,  and  up  the  mili- 


IN   WHICH   THE   ARMY    OF    INVASION    ARRIVES      291 

tary  masts,  and  all  other  points  of  vantage.  Yes, 
the  news  was  true,  over  thirty  transports  were 
coming  up  from  the  direction  of  Guantanamo  Bay, 
having  rounded  Cape  Maysi  some  hours  previously. 
The  army  of  invasion  had  really  arrived,  nearly 
seventeen  thousand  strong.  As  that  vast  fleet 
came  up,  convoyed  by  fourteen  warships,  it  pre 
sented  a  most  imposing  appearance,  and  guns 
boomed  loudly  to  welcome  it. 

"  Is  the  Seventy-first  on  board  ? "  was  Walter's 
question ;  and  when  at  last  he  heard  that  it  was, 
his  heart  beat  quickly.  "  Ben  must  be  there  ! " 
he  thought.  And  Ben  ivas  there,  and  thinking 
of  Walter  at  the  same  time. 

"  Santiago  is  doomed  now,"  said  Caleb,  as  he 
surveyed  the  scene. 

"  That's  so,"  put  in  Si,  tossing  up  his  cap.  "  And 
old  Cervera  must  either  come  out  and  fight,  or  haul 
down  his  colors.  Oh,  but  won't  we  just  smash 
things  when  that  army  is  landed  !  " 

And  Walter  agreed  with  both  of  them. 

As  soon  as  it  could  be  arranged,  the  army  was 
landed  at  Baiquiri,  Siboney,  and  other  points, 
Guantanamo  being  reserved  as  a  coaling  station 
for  the  warships.  After  the  first  landing,  a  strong 


292  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

detachment  of  regulars  and  Rough  Riders  was 
thrown  out,  and  then  followed  the  battles  of  La 
Guasima,  San  Juan,  and  El  Caney,  described  in 
detail  in  the  previous  volume  of  this  series.  The 
soldier  boys  fought  bravely,  and  Ben  Russell  and 
his  chum,  Gilbert  Pennington,  were  well  to  the 
front,  as  we  know. 

The  landing  of  the  troops  was  no  easy  matter, 
for  the  surf  ran  high,  and  it  was  feared  that  the 
Spaniard  might  make  a  heavy  onslaught  at  any 
instant.  All  the  small  boats  of  the  warships  were 
called  into  use,  to  land  men  and  army  stores,  and 
while  this  work  was  in  progress,  many  of  the  ships 
began  to  bombard  various  points  along  the  coast, 
for  the  purpose  of  confusing  the  enemy,  so  that 
they  would  not  realize  the  truth  of  what  was 
taking  place.  The  ruse  succeeded,  and  during  the 
landing  the  Spaniards  remained  comparatively  quiet, 
hardly  knowing  in  what  direction  to  turn,  or  what 
to  do,  since  the  Americans  were  covering  over  a 
hundred  miles  of  rugged  coast-line. 

The  debarkation  at  an  end,  the  Brooklyn  returned 
to  her  position  on  the  blockade.  All  hands  knew 
that  something  important  would  soon  happen,  and, 
consequently,  everybody  slept  thenceforth  u  with 


IN   WHICH   THE   ARMY   OF   INVASION   ARRIVES      293 

one  eye  open."  "Cervera  must  not  be  allowed  to 
escape,  night  or  day,  under  any  circumstances," 
was  the  order  passed,  and  it  was  to  be  obeyed  to 
the  letter. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

THE   SPANISH   FLEET    AND   ITS    COMMANDER 

"  Now  that  we  are  so  anxious  to  catch  Admiral 
Cervera  and  smash  his  ships,  I  should  like  to  know 
something  about  the  man  and  his  command,"  re 
marked  Walter,  a  few  days  after  the  army  had 
landed.  He  addressed  George  Ellis,  who,  in  his 
quiet,  gentlemanly  way  had  taken  a  liking  to  the 
youth. 

The  two  were  seated  in  the  shadow  of  one  of 
the  forward  guns,  taking  it  easy,  for  the  morning 
drills  were  over  and  it  yet  lacked  half  an  hour  to 
mess  time.  Slowly  the  Brooklyn  rose  and  sank 
on  the  waves  of  the  Caribbean  Sea,  four  miles 
outside  of  Santiago  Bay.  This  was  the  visual 
distance  in  the  daytime.  At  night,  despite  the 
danger  of  an  attack  by  a  torpedo  destroyer,  the 
warships  came  in  much  closer,  and  the  glare  of 
the  searchlights  never  left  Morro  Castle  or  the 
narrow  harbor  entrance. 

294 


THE    SPANISH   FLEET   AND    ITS    COMMANDER      295 

"  I  know  very  little  about  Admiral  Cervera  ex 
cepting  that  lie  has  been  in  the  Spanish  navy  for 
many  years  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
gentlemen  that  ever  trod  the  deck  of  a  ship. 
Why  he  ever  allowed  himself  to  be  bottled  up 
like  this  is  more  than  I  can  understand.  I  imag 
ine,  though,  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Havana, 
to  break  the  blockade  there,  when  he  heard  that 
Admiral  Sampson  was  coming  for  him  one  way 
and  our  commodore  the  other,  and  he  concluded 
that  the  best  thing  he  could  do  would  be  to  scoot 
into  the  bay  yonder  and  save  himself  and  possibly 
Santiago.  They  say  he  carried  a  lot  of  guns  and 
ammunition  for  the  Spanish  army.  He  can  dis 
tribute  those  as  well  at  Santiago  as  he  can  at 
Havana,  for  I  understand  General  Toral  here  is 
as  hard  up  as  Blanco  is  at  the  other  city." 

"  And  what  of  the  ships  under  him  ?  They 
say  he  has  six.  Do  you  know  how  big  they  are  ?  " 
went  on  Walter. 

"  He  has  four  warships  and  two  torpedo  de 
stroyers,"  answered  the  chief  yeoman.  "  I  got 
that  straight  from  Lieutenant  Blue,  who  went 
ashore  for  Admiral  Sampson,  made  a  detour  of 
seventy  miles,  and  from  the  top  of  a  high  hill  saw 


296  .  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

the  ships  in  the  harbor  through  his  powerful 
glasses." 

"  Somebody  said  all  the  big  ships  were  armored 
cruisers." 

"  That  is  true,  and  three  of  them,  the  Vizcaya, 
the  Almirante  Oquendo,  and  the  Maria  Teresa,  are 
sister  ships,  of  seven  thousand  tons  each.  Each 
is  about  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long  and 
can  speed  at  eighteen  to  nineteen  knots  an  hour. 
They  carry  about  five  hundred  men  each,  and 
every  one  has  a  main  battery  of  two  11-inch 
Hontoria  and  ten  5.5-inch  •  Hontoria  guns,  with 
a  secondary  battery  of  eight  6-pounders,  ten 
1-pounders,  several  machine  guns ;  and  they  also 
carry  six  torpedo  tubes  each." 

"  And  what  of  the  fourth  cruiser  ?  " 

"  She  is  the  Cristobal  Colon,  the  fastest  of  the 
lot,  even  though  her  displacement  is  two  hundred 
tons  short  of  the  others.  They  say  she  can  run 
eighteen  knots  an  hour  with  ease  and  twenty 
knots  if  she  is  put  to  it.  Her  armor  belt  is 
six  inches  thick,  alongside  of  twelve  inches  on 
the  other  cruisers.  She  also  carries  about  five 
hundred  men,  and  she  has  a  main  battery  of  two 
10-inch  and  five  6-inch  guns,  and  a  secondary 


THE    SPANISH   FLEET    AND    ITS    COMMANDER      297 

battery  of  rapid-firing  rifles,  6  and  10  pounders 
and  two  Maxim  guns.  Her  torpedo  tubes  number 
four." 

"  Then  they  are  no  small  fry  to  battle  with," 
observed  Walter.  "  When  their  batteries  break 
loose  they  ought  to  do  some  talking." 

"They  will  talk.  We  mustn't  expect  any  walk 
over,  if  Cervera  ever  comes  out  of  his  hole." 

"  And  what  of  the  two  torpedo  boats  ? " 

"  They  are  sister  ships,  the  Pluton  and  Furor, 
each  of  three  hundred  and  eighty  tons  displace 
ment.  They  say  that  each  has  a  speed  of  twenty- 
seven  knots  an  hour,  and  both  are  equipped  with 
the  latest  appliances  for  such  crafts,  carrying  regu 
lar,  automatic,  and  rapid-fire  guns,  and  also  four- 
teen-inch  Schwartzkopff  torpedo  tubes." 

"  I  should  say  they  would  be  good  things  to 
keep  out  of  the  way  of,"  exclaimed  Walter. 

"  We've  got  our  eyes  wide  open  for  them,  lad. 
To  be  sure,  one  or  another  of  them  may  play  us 
some  dirty  trick  of  a  dark  night  —  but  that  is 
one  of  the  risks  to  be  taken  in  war  times,"  con 
cluded  the  chief  yeoman,  as  a  petty  officer  called 
him  away. 

All   on   board   the   warships   waited    eagerly   for 


298  FIGHTING   IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

news  from  the  army  of  invasion.  It  was  known 
that  the  Rough  Riders  had  had  a  severe  skirmish 
at  La  Guasima,  but  that  was  all,  so  far  as  the 
jackies  went.  Possibly  the  officers  knew  more, 
but  if  so,  they  kept  the  knowledge  to  them 
selves. 

"  Another  dull  week  will  come  to  an  end  to 
morrow,"  remarked  Si,  as  he  and  Walter  Avere  on 
their  way  to  the  mess  table.  "  Oh,  but  I'm  sick 
of  laying  around  looking  at  old  Morro.  If  only 
those  ships  would  come  out,  we'd  sink  them  all  in 
less  than  two  hours;  I  feel  sure  of  it." 

Si's  growl  was  becoming  a  universal  one,  even 
the  officers  grumbling  a  good  deal.  All  wanted 
to  fight  Cervera's  fleet,  and  the  more  the  Span 
ish  admiral  kept  himself  hidden,  the  more  angry 
did  they  become.  Many  almost  begged  to  have 
their  ships  forced  into  the  harbor,  no  matter  what 
the  consequences  —  they  stating  that  anything 
would  be  better  than  this  everlasting  waiting. 
The  blockade  had  now  lasted  five  long  weeks. 

In  the  meantime,  matters  elsewhere  had  not 
been  idle.  Chagrined  over  Dewey's  victory  at 
Manila,  Spain  resolved  to  send  another  fleet  to 
the  Philippines  by  way  of  the  Suez  Canal,  taking, 


THE    SPANISH    FLEET    AND    ITS    COMMANDER      299 

for  this  purpose,  almost  all  the  warships  left  in 
her  home  waters.  As  soon  as  this  was  brought 
to  light,  our  own  naval  board  decided  to  send 
an  American  fleet  to  the  coast  of  Spain,  and  Com 
modore  Watson  was  placed  in  command  of  the  ex 
pedition.  But  before  the  American  warships  could 
sail,  the  Spanish  fleet,  having  gone  through  the 
Suez  Canal,  turned  back  for  home,  and  the  Ameri 
can  warships  remained  where  they  were,  and 
Dewey  was  left  unmolested  at  Manila,  so  far  as 
Spanish  operations  were  concerned,  although  the 
insurgents  under  General  Aguinaldo  soon  began 
to  give  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

Saturday  morning  dawned  misty  but  hot.  From 
a  great  distance  could  be  heard  the  rattle  of  mus 
ketry,  showing  that  the  army  of  invasion  was  slowly 
but  surely  advancing. 

"  They're  in  it  all  right  enough  -  '  began  Si, 
when  there  came  a  sudden  call  to  quarters,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  Brooklyn  s  engines  began  to 
move  and  she  headed  for  Santiago  Bay.  "Hullo, 
what  does  this  mean?" 

"Perhaps  we  are  going  to  force  an  entrance!" 
ejaculated  Walter.  "Hurrah,  if  we  do!  " 

"  Better   not   count    your    chickens   before    they 


300  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

are  hatched,"  remarked  Caleb,  who  had  just  rolled 
from  his  hammock. 

They  soon  learned  the  truth  of  the  movement. 
The  shore  batteries  were  again  to  be  bombarded, 
and  this  time  not  even  Morro  Castle  was  to  be 
spared,  it  having  been  ascertained  that  Hobson 
and  his  men  had  been  removed  to  safe  quarters. 

4i  Down  with  old  Morro ;  we'll  show  the  Dons 
a  thing  or  two !  "  was  the  cry,  and  off  rushed  the 
men  to  their  guns,  their  eyes  brighter  than  they 
had  been  for  many  a  day,  for  Morro  Castle  had 
been  an  eyesore  to  all. 

The  flagship  New  York  was  leading  the  fleet, 
which,  as  before,  soon  ranged  up  in  a  semicircle. 
Inside  of  five  minutes  every  vessel  had  her  station. 

"  Cast  loose  and  provide !  " 

The  now  familiar  cry  was  scarcely  needed,  for 
the  jackies  were  already  at  Work,  stripped,  as  before, 
of  all  their  superfluous  clothing.  Shot  and  powder 
were  quickly  handled,  and  the  flagship  began  the 
firing,  which  immediately  broke  forth  in  all  its 
fury,  deafening  everybody  and  sending  forth  a 
great  cloud  of  smoke  which  hung  over  the  war 
ships  like  a  pall. 

"  Morro's   flag   is   down !  "    came   the   shout.     It 


THE    SPANISH    FLEET    AND    ITS    COMMANDER      301 

was  true.  A  gunner  on  the  noble  Oregon  had 
taken  careful  aim  and  cut  the  flagstaff  in  two. 
The  falling  of  the  Spanish  emblem  was  greeted 
with  a  wild  cheer.  At  once  the  Spaniards  tried 
to  put  another  flag  up,  but  it  was  some  time  ere 
they  succeeded,  and  then  it  was  a  tiny  affair,  hardly 
visible  excepting  with  a  glass. 

"  We'll  try  for  that  battery  yonder !  "  exclaimed 
Caleb,  during  the  height  of  the  bombardment. 
"  I  think  those  fellows  have  been  firing  this  way 
ever  since  they  started." 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  when  bang  !  something 
hit  the  armor  plate  directly  under  their  gun,  hurl 
ing  the  gunner,  Walter,  and  several  others  back 
by  the  shock. 

"  They've  struck  us,  but  the  shot  didn't  'pierce 
our  armor,"  remarked  Caleb,  calmly,  as  he  got 
up.  "  All  right,  you  villains,  here's  the  compli 
ment  returned  !  "  And  he  made  his  preparations 
with  care. 

The  shot  following  was  the  best  they  had  yet 
placed.  It  struck  into  a  battery  on  the  west 
shore  of  the  harbor  entrance,  ploughed  up  the 
foundation  of  a  six-pound  gun,  and  sent  the  piece 
flying  high  into  the  air. 


302  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

"  My,  but  that  was  immense !  "  cried  Walter, 
while  Si  and  the  others  cheered  wildly.  "  Give 
them  another !  " 

And  they  did  give  the  battery  another,  and  then 
a  dozen  more,  until  at  last  the  place  was  silenced, 
showing  that  Avhat  was  left  of  the  gunners  had 
fled. 

At  half-past  seven  came  the  order  to  cease  firing, 
but  it  was  fully  twenty  minutes  later  before  the  last 
of  the  warships'  guns  Avere  discharged.  By  this  time 
not  only  the  batteries  but  also  old  Morro  were  filled 
with  gaping  holes.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  if 
the  fleet  had  sought  to  enter  the  harbor  at  this  time 
it  could  have  done  so  with  comparative  ease. 

The  work  at  the  gun  had  been  very  hot,  and  as 
soon  as  they  were  able  to  do  so,  W alter  and  Si 
scurried  to  the  upper  deck  to  get  a  bit  of  fresh 
air. 

"  It  fairly  stews  the  fat  out  of  a  fellow,"  grumbled 
Si,  running  the  perspiration  from  his  forehead  with 
his  forefinger.  "  I'll  bet  I'm  ten  pounds  lighter 
than  before  this  blockade  began." 

"Never  mind;  it's  one  of  the  fortunes  of  war  — 
began   Walter,  when   of   a  sudden  a   strange  whir 
and  a  singing  sound  filled  the  air.     It  was  a  shell, 


THE    SPANISH    FLEET    AND    ITS    COMMANDER       303 

fired  from  Morro  Castle,  just  as  the  Brooklyn  was 
turning  away. 

"  Look  out  !  "  yelled  Si,  and  dropped  down,  but 
the  words  were  still  on  his  lips  when  the  shell 
exploded,  sending  the  fragments  flying  in  all  direc 
tions.  Both  boys  were  struck,  and  with  a  groan 
Walter  fell  senseless  to  the  deck. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 

"  THE   ENEMY   IS   ESCAPING  !  " 

"  Is  he  dead,  surgeon  ?  " 

"Oh,  doctor,  he'll  live  —  say  he'll  live!" 

Caleb  and  Si  had  followed  the  senseless  form  of 
Walter  to  the  sick  bay  of  the  warship,  the  Yankee 
youth  with  the  blood  streaming  from  a  deep  cut  in 
his  left  cheek.  Both  were  in  distress  for  fear  their 
comrade  was  seriously  injured. 

"  Yes,  he'll  live,  but  he  has  had  a  narrow  escape," 
was  the  reply  of  the  medical  man  in  charge  of  the 
case.  "  The  bit  of  shell  scraped  his  left  temple,  as 
you  see.  Had  it  come  a  little  closer,  it  would  have 
gone  through  his  brain." 

Walter  had  been  placed  on  a  swinging  cot,  and 
now  his  head  was  bound  up.  Before  this  operation 
was  over  he  opened  his  eyes. 

u  Whe  —  where  am  I  ?  "  he  stammered.  "  Wh  — • 
what  hit  me  ?  " 

"  Praise  God,  he's  himself  again  !  "  murmured 
Caleb,  reverently.  "  I  was  afraid  he  was  a  goner." 

304 


"  XHE   ENEMY    IS   ESCAPING  !  "  305 

"  So  was  I,"  whispered  Si.  "  And  I  don't  know 
how  I  could  spare  Walter  —  he  seems  so  like  a 
brother." 

"  You  must  lie  quiet  for  a  while,"  said  the  sur 
geon.  "You'll  be  all  right  by  to-night."  And  then 
he  gave  Walter  some  medicine  to  brace  his  nerves, 
for  they  had  been  sadly  shattered  by  the  shock. 
The  remainder  of  that  Saturday  was  spent  in 
bed. 

On  this  memorable  day  the  righting  on  land  had 
been  even  more  fierce  than  on  the  sea.  The  army 
of  invasion  had  taken  the  various  outposts  of  Santi 
ago,  and  the  very  city  itself  now  lay  at  General 
Shafter's  mercy.  It  was  felt  that  a  day  or  two 
longer  would  bring  matters  to  a  climax. 

When  Walter  joined  his  comrades  after  supper 
he  looked  rather  pale  and  scared.  Almost  silently 
he  took  Si's  hand  and  wrung  it. 

"  You  are  all  right  ?  "  he  whispered. 

"No  hurt  to  speak  of,"  was  the  answer. 

"  But  we  were  pretty  close  to  death.  Oh,  Si,  I 
never  realized  before  how  quick  one  could  be  put 
out  of  this  world  !  " 

"Neither  did  I,  Walter.  After  this  I'm  going 
to  —  well  —  I'm  going  to  attend  church  more  regu- 


306  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

larly,  that's  all.  I  never  did  take  much  to  sech 
matters  afore,  like  you  do." 

"It's  always  well  to  be  prepared  for  death,  Si — • 
I'm  going  to  try  to  be  prepared  after  this,"  was 
Walter's  low  answer,  and  in  the  darkness  of  the 
berth  deck  they  clasped  hands  again.  They  under 
stood  each  other  pretty  well,  these  boys. 

On  Sunday  morning  the  sun  arose  clear  and 
strong,  and  early  in  the  day  an  awning  was  spread 
over  the  quarterdeck  of  the  flagship  Brooklyn, 
and  preparations  were  made  to  pass  a  hot  day  as 
comfortably  as  possible.  "  We  will  rest  to-day," 
was  the  word  passed  around,  and  the  jackies  were 
not  sorry,  for  the  bombardment  on  Saturday  morn 
ing  had  tired  them  out. 

The  Brooklyn  rested  about  three  miles  out  from 
Santiago  Bay,  and  not  far  off  lay  the  Texas.  Be 
tween  the  two  ships  the  long,  green  waves  rose 
and  fell,  only  making  a  soft  slish-slish  as  they 
struck  the  vessels'  sides.  The  jackies  lolled  here, 
there,  and  everywhere,  some  talking,  some  reading 
old  newspapers  which  from  frequent  handling 
would  scarcely  hold  together,  while  a  few  studied 
the  Bibles  they  had  brought  with  them. 

Presently    from    the     Texas    came     the     musical 


"  THE   ENEMY   IS   ESCAPING  !  "  307 

bugle-call  for  church  service.  "  I'd  like  to  go  on 
board  of  her  once,"  said  Walter  to  Si,  as  they 
listened  to  the  bell  that  followed.  "  She's  cer 
tainly  a  fine-looking  craft." 

"  Three  bells,"  put  in  Caleb,  as  he  came  up. 
"  Come  on,  lads,  first  Sunday  in  the  month,  re 
member,  and  the  Articles  of  War  have  got  to  be 
hearkened  to." 

"  That's  so ;  I  had  forgotten,"  answered  Walter. 
And  he  and  the  others  dropped  below,  to  don 
their  cleanest  and  neatest  "  rigs,"  for  general 
muster.  Soon  the  call  came,  and  from  all  parts 
of  the  big  cruiser  the  men  hurried  to  their  various 
divisions,  while  the  higher  officers  buckled  on 
their  swords,  and  the  executive  officers  prepared 
to  make  their  inspections. 

On  the  quarterdeck,  near  the  hatchway,  sat 
Commodore  Schley,  musing  thoughtfully,  as  he 
gazed  over  the  waters  in  the  direction  of  Morro 
Castle.  The  fighting  commodore  undoubtedly  felt 
as  hot  as  anybody,  for  he  wore  a  thin,  black  alpaca 
coat  and  an  equally  thin,  white  summer  hat.  He 
was  now  in  sole  command  of  the  blockading  fleet, 
for  the  New  York  had  carried  Admiral  Sampson 
many  miles  away,  to  confer  with  General  Shafter. 


308  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

For  some  time  there  had  been  smoke  in  the 
harbor  entrance  in  front  of  the  warships,  and 
many  were  wondering  what  it  meant.  "  Must  be  a 
supply  boat  for  the  batteries,"  said  several  under- 
officers,  and  this  theory  was  accepted  as  correct. 
Nevertheless,  Commodore  Schley  glanced  toward 
that  smoke  more  than  once. 

"  We  are  going  to  have  general  muster,  commo 
dore,"  announced  Captain  Cook,  as  he  presented 
himself,  followed  by  Executive  Officer  Mason,  and 
the  commander  of  the  fleet  pro  tern,  nodded.  But 
those  keen  eyes  were  still  bent  shoreward. 

Suddenly,  from  the  forward  bridge  there  came 
a  yell  through  a  megaphone,  a  yell  that  electrified 
everybody  who  heard  it. 

"  After  bridge  there !  Report  to  the  commo 
dore  and  the  captain  that  the  enemy's  ships  are 
coming  out  of  the  harbor!" 

There  was  no  necessity  to  report,  for  commo 
dore,  captain,  and  all  others  heard  the  cry.  There 
was  a  second  of  silence.  Could  this  news  be  true? 
Then  came  the  command  of  the  executive  officer. 

"Clear  ship  for  action!" 

"  Hurrah !  the  enemy  is  coming  out  at  last  ! 
To  your  guns,  boys  !  Remember  the  Maine ! " 


"  THE    ENEMY    IS   ESCAPING  !  "  309 

These  and  a  score  of  other  cries  rang  out,  while 
men  rushed  hither  and  thither,  dropping  one  gar 
ment  or  another  as  they  ran,  and  kicking  shoes 
right  and  left,  for  no  Jackie  will  do  work  worth 
the  counting  unless  he  is  barefooted.  Everybody 
had  on  his  best  clothing,  but  that  did  not  matter, 
and  down  into  the  grimy  depths  of  the  big  vessel 
dropped  the  firemen,  coal  heavers,  and  all  the  rest 
of  the  "black  gang,"  as  they  are  termed,  for 
steam  must  be  gotten  up  in  a  tremendous  hurry 
or  the  enemy  would  surely  get  away.  Ton  after 
ton  of  coal  was  thrown  onto  the  fires,  and  the 
firemen  coaxed  and  coaxed  until  the  black  lumps 
grew  first  red  and  then  white,  and  converted  the 
water  in  the  boilers  into  high-pressure  steam. 
"  Fire  up !  for  the  sake  of  the  ship's  honor,  fire 
up ! "  came  in  a  hoarse  cry  down  the  speaking- 
tube,  and  the  men  did  fire  up  as  never  before, 
until  all  were  ready  to  drop  from  the  terrific 
heat.  And  all  this  while  the  engineers  were 
watching  their  engines,  oiling  this  part  and  that, 
and  making  every  pound  of  steam  do  its  utmost 
to  send  the  great  armored  cruiser  dashing  and 
hissing  through  the  sea  to  that  point  where  the 
Spanish  fleet  was  trying  to  escape. 


310  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

For  Admiral  Cervera  could  stand  it  no  longer 
inside  of  the  harbor.  With  the  army  of  invasion 
at  the  very  outskirts  of  Santiago,  and  with  the 
American  fleet  beyond  his  bay  of  refuge,  some 
thing  must  be  done,  and  done  quickly.  He  would 
run  for  it,  —  run  at  the  top  of  his  speed  —  and 
trust  to  luck,  if  not  Providence,  to  get  out  of 
range  and  reach  Cienfuegos  or  Havana.  Santiago 
Bay  was  "  too  hot  to  hold  him." 

It  was  the  big  prow  of  the  Maria  Teresa  that 
first  showed  itself,  quickly  followed  by  the  Vlzcaya, 
Oquendo,  and  Colon,  with  the  torpedo  boats  Pluton 
and  Furor  bringing  up  closely  in  the  rear.  All 
were  under  a  full  head  of  steam,  and  the  thick 
smoke  shot  up  in  heavy  clouds  from  every  funnel. 
For  an  instant  all  seemed  to  pause  at  the  gate 
way  to  the  sea,  then,  led  by  the  Maria  Teresa, 
they  turned  westward  along  the  coast.  To  this 
side  of  the  blockade  now  lay  but  three  American 
warships,  the  Brooklyn,  Texas,  and  the  little  Vixen. 
If  he  could  only  get  out  of  range  of  these, 
Admiral  Cervera  felt  that  he  would,  for  the  time 
being  at  least,  be  safe. 

Boom  !  It  was  a  three-pounder,  fired  from  the 
Iowa,  lying  some  distance  to  the  eastward  of  the 


"  THE   ENEMY    IS    ESCAPING  !  "  311 

Texas.  She,  too,  was  flying  the  signal,  "  The 
enemy  is  escaping,"  in  red  and  white  and  blue 
flags.  Beyond  the  Iowa,  still  further  eastward, 
lay  the  pride  of  the  western  coast,  the  mighty 
Oregon,  and  it  was  this  ship  that  first  started  up 
her  engines  in  pursuit,  having,  by  chance,  a  good 
head  of  steam  up.  And  as  the  Oregon  turned  in 
one  direction,  the  little  Resolute  turned  in  the 
other,  to  carry  the  news  to  the  absent  rear-admiral. 

Three  minutes  had  not  yet  passed,  yet  a  com 
plete  transformation  had  occurred  on  the  Brooklyn. 
Five  hundred  men  had  scuttled  to  as  many  differ 
ent  directions,  battle  hatches  had  been  lowered, 
water-tight  compartments  closed,  hose  attached  and 
decks  wet  down,  fire  tubs  filled,  magazines  opened, 
hoists  put  into  operation,  and  ammunition  de 
livered  to  turret,  decks,  and  to  the  fighting-tops. 
Down  below,  fire  had  been  started  under  four 
fresh  boilers,  and  a  dozen  different  connections 
between  engines  made. 

Nor  was  this  all.  Splinter  nets  had  been  spread 
as  before,  all  useless  woodwork  thrown  overboard, 
and  the  surgeons'  operating  tables  made  ready. 
The  warning  gun  from  the  lotva  was  followed  by 
a  gun  from  the  Texas,  and  then  the  Brooklyn 


312  FIGHTING    IX    CUB  AX    WATERS 

helped  to  "  open  the  ball "  with  her  forward  eight- 
inch  guns.  Another  great  naval  battle,  fully  equal 
to  that  of  Manila  Bay,  was  now  on. 

"  It's  a  question  of  do  or  die,  boys !  "  cried 
Caleb,  as  he  worked  over  the  heavy  gun  before 
him.  "  Hustle  now,  as  you  never  hustled  before, 
or  the  dagos  will  get  away.  Now  then,  Polly, 
do  the  best  you  can  !"  And  bang!  went  the  gun, 
with  a  noise  that  was  deafening.  Ten  minutes 
later  Walter  felt  as  if  his  hearing  had  left  him 
entirely,  so  incessant  was  the  firing. 

The  first  fire  from  the  enemy  came  from  the 
Maria  Teresa,  and  was  an  eleven-inch  shell  directed 
at  the  Brooklyn.  Hardly  had  this  been  discharged 
when  the  Indiana,  coming  up  behind  the  Iowa, 
took  a  long-range  chance  and  sent  a  shell  directly 
upon  the  Teresa's  deck,  doing  not  a  little  damage. 
Then  the  firing  became  general,  and  shot  and  shell 
was  hurled  in  every  direction. 

So  far,  the  Brooklyn  had  been  headed  directly 
for  the  harbor  entrance,  commodore  and  captain 
being  intent  upon  cutting  off  the  enemy's  west 
ward  flight,  if  possible.  This  course  soon  brought 
the  Maria  Teresa,  Vizcaya,  and  the  Brooklyn  into 
close  proximity,  and  presently  all  were  lost  to  view 


"  THE   ENEMY    IS   ESCAPING  !  "  313 

in  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke,  from  which  shot  long 
streaks  of  fire,  as  battery  after  battery  was  dis 
charged  at  close  range. 

"  Give  it  to  'em !  "  was  the  cry  that  rang 
throughout  the  Brooklyn.  "  Don't  let  up  on  'em  ! 
We  must  do  as  well  as  Dewey  did,  and  better ! 
Remember  the  Maine,  and  three  cheers  for  Uncle 
Sam !  "  Such  cries  were  truly  inspiring,  but  pres 
ently  the  men  became  silent,  as  the  work  began 
to  tell  upon  them,  and  they  realized  what  a  fear 
ful  task  still  lay  before  them. 

"  The  second  ship's  flag  is  down !  "  was  the 
welcome  news  which  soon  drifted  down  from  the 
fighting-tops.  It  was  true,  the  Vizcaya's  big  silk 
flag  had  been  riddled  completely  and  the  halyard 
shot  away ;  but  soon  another  flag  was  run  up. 
Later  on  the  Brooklyn's  flag  also  came  down,  but 
it  did  not  remain  so  more  than  two  minutes  before 
a  Jackie  had  it  up  again. 

The  battle  had  but  fairly  begun,  and  the  Brook 
lyn  and  the  Maria  Teresa  were  having  it  "  hot  and 
heavy,"  when  suddenly  the  bow  of  the  Vizcaya 
began  to  turn  swiftly.  At  once  a  cry  rang  out. 
"  That  ship  is  going  to  ram  the  Brooklyn!  See, 
she  is  turning  full  toward  her  !  " 


314  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

The  warning  proved  true.  The  Vizcaya  was 
turned  fairly  and  squarely  for  Commodore  Schley's 
flagship.  Bells  were  ringing  on  board  of  her  for 
"  Full  speed  ahead."  On  and  on  she  came,  like  a 
demon  of  the  deep,  in  one  wild,  terrible  effort  to 
ram  the  vessel  Walter  was  on  and  sink  her ! 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

THE   DESTRUCTION   OF    THE    SPANISH   FLEET 

"WE  are  lost!" 

"  That  ship  will  cut  us  in  half  ! " 

"  Give  her  a  broadside,  boys,  before  we  go 
down ! " 

These  and  a  hundred  other  cries  rang  out,  as 
the  Vizcaya  came  leaping  over  the  waves  on  her 
awful  mission  of  death  and  destruction.  Then 
gun  after  gun  roared  out,  sending  shot  and  shell 
on  the  enemy's  deck.  If  this  was  their  last  hour 
on  earth,  these  brave  jackies  were  going  to  make 
the  most  of  it. 

But  commodore,  captain,  and  executive  officer 
were  all  on  the  alert  and  were  not  to  be  caught 
napping.  As  the  Vizcaya  came  on,  the  necessary 
orders  were  given,  and  the  Brooklyn  began  to  turn 
in  a  twelve-point  circle  to  starboard.  Like  a  flash 
she  swept  past  the  warship  dashing  on  to  destroy 
her,  and  then  the  command  rang  out,  "  Give  her 

315 


316  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

another  broadside ! "  And  the  port  guns,  twenty 
in  number,  vomited  out  their  death-dealing  shots 
and  shells,  raking  the  Spanish  deck  from  end  to 
end,  and  killing  and  wounding  a  great  number  of 
sailors  and  officers.  To  this  awful  fire  was  added 
that  from  the  Oregon,  which  now  came  up  to  assist 
the  flagship.  Realizing  that  the  plan  to  ram  the 
Brooklyn  was  a  failure,  the  Vizcaya  started  west 
ward  once  more. 

It  was  now  high  time  to  turn  attention  to  the 
two  torpedo-boat  destroyers,  Pluton  and  Furor, 
that  were  coming  out  of  the  harbor  at  a  speed  of 
twenty  knots  per  hour.  Once  these  destroyers 
gained  the  open  sea,  to  catch  them  would  be  im 
possible.  Like  long,  steel  arrows  glistening  in 
the  sunlight,  they  darted  through  the  greenish 
waves  and  for  a  moment  hid  themselves  behind 
their  big  sisters. 

Then  on  came  the  Gloucester,  a  converted  yacht, 
commanded  by  Lieutenant  Wainwright.  Wain- 
wright  had  been  executive  officer  of  the  Maine 
when  she  was  blown  up  in  Havana  Harbor,  and 
had  vowed  more  than  once  to  sink  something  if 
only  he  were  given  a  chance.  Like  an  avenging 
angel  the  Gloucester,  but  lightly  armed,  bore  down 


THE   DESTRUCTION   OF   THE   SPANISH   FLEET      317 

upon  the  torpedo  boats  and  sent  shot  after  shot 
into  them.  Then  the  destroyers  began  to  turn, 
as  if  to  sink  the  little  enemy  who  dared  to  molest 
them,  but  now  it  was  too  late,  —  the  big  warships 
were  coming  to  the  Gloucester's  aid. 

It  was  the  Oregon  and  the  Iowa  that  first  came 
to  the  converted  yacht's  assistance,  and  as  the 
destroyers  turned,  first  one  way  and  then  another, 
as  if  to  ram  or  to  run,  a  perfect  hailstorm  of  shot 
and  shell  landed  on  their  sides  and  decks,  churning 
up  the  water  into  a  milk-white  froth,  and  causing 
the  destroyers  to  look  like  gigantic  whales  lash 
ing  themselves  in  their  death  throes.  The  noise 
was  even  greater  than  it  had  been  before,  and  the 
smoke  made  the  heavens  above  look  as  if  a  violent 
thunderstorm  was  at  hand. 

Finding  they  could  not  withstand  such  a  com 
bined  attack,  and  with  the  Texas  hurrying  to  the 
scene,  the  destroyers  turned  tail,  as  if  to  make 
for  the  shore.  As  the  turn  was  made  a  huge 
shell,  flying  over  the  masts  of  the  G-loucester,  hit 
the  Pluton  directly  amidship,  and  with  a  crash 
and  a  splutter  she  broke  and  sank,  leaving  the 
still  living  members  of  her  crew  struggling  in 
the  boiling  waters  for  their  lives. 


318  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

Left  to  herself,  the  Furor  again  paused,  like 
some  wild  animal  seeking  in  vain  for  cover.  She 
started  to  get  behind  the  Oquendo,  but,  in  spite 
of  the  fire  from  the  shore  batteries,  the  Gloucester 
went  in  after  her,  with  every  available  gun  doing 
its  utmost,  and  fairly  fillirig  her  with  small  holes. 
At  last  the  destroyer  could  stand  it  no  longer, 
and  with  a  lurch  she  struck  on  a  reef  and  began 
to  break.  In  a  moment  more  the  water  poured 
over  her  sides,  and  her  crew  was  compelled  to 
surrender.  The  instant  the  surrender  was  made, 
the  converted  yacht,  from  being  an  angel  of  ven 
geance,  became  an  angel  of  mercy,  and  to  gallant 
Lieutenant-commander  Wainwright  fell  the  honor 
of  rescuing  hundreds  of  wounded  and  drowning 
Spaniards  who  must  otherwise  have  perished. 

Such  was  the  close  of  this  running  light.  At 
the  front,  the  four  big  warships  were,  still  trying 
to  push  on,  with  the  Brooklyn,  Oregon,  Iowa, 
Texas,  and  Indiana  in  the  chase.  With  a  full 
head  of  steam  the  noble  Oregon  reached  a  posi 
tion  between  Commodore  Schley's  flagship  and  the 
Texas,  and  every  vessel  in  the  line  belched  forth 
its  messengers  of  death  and  destruction. 

Presently  a  cry  echoed  throughout  the  squadron 


THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    THE   SPANISH    FLEET      319 

regarding  the  Oquendo.  "  She  is  on  fire  !  See, 
she  is  burning  in  three  places  !  " 

The  report  was  true.  A  shell  had  burst  near 
the  quarterdeck  of  the  warship,  and  now  high  to 
the  sky  arose  a  column  of  yellowish  red  smoke. 
Then  the  flames  burst  out  of  her  bow.  In  vain 
the  Spaniards  tried  to  man  their  fire-hose.  A 
shower  of  projectiles  from  the  fighting-tops  of 
our  own  ships  assailed  them  and  drove  them  to 
shelter,  while  the  big  guns  continued  to  "pump 
up "  shot  and  shell  as  never  before. 

But  the  Oquendo  was  no  worse  off  than  the 
Maria  Teresa,  if  as  badly.  She  staggered  on,  and 
a  few  minutes  later  passed  her  sister  ship  as  if 
looking  for  aid,  when  aid  could  not  be  given. 

"  The  Maria  Teresa  is  on  fire  !  "  was  the  next 
cry,  but  a  few  minutes  later.  "  Down  goes  Cer- 
vera's  flag  !  Hurrah,  boys,  we've  got  em  'on  the 
run  !  Give  it  to  'em  hot  !  " 

Yes,  the  admiral's  flag  was  down,  and  so  was 
the  mast  that  had  held  it.  Would  the  Spanish 
emblem  go  up  again  ?  All  watched  anxiously,  and 
meanwhile  the  Brooklyn  continued  to  pour  in  her 
hottest  fire. 

"  She's  going  ashore  !  "  rang  through  the  Ameri- 


320  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

can  flagship.  "  She's  burning  up  !  "  and  then  came 
a  heavy  shot  from  the  Brooklyn,  another  from  the 
Texas,  and  staggering  like  a  thing  of  life,  the  Maria 
Teresa  ran  for  the  beach,  a  mass  of  seething 
and  roaring  flames.  Admiral  Cervera's  doom  was 
sealed.  Five  minutes  later  the  Oquendo  was  also 
cast  on  the  shore. 

Four  of  the  enemy's  ships  had  been  laid  low, 
but  the  great  fight  was  by  no  means  over.  Shot 
and  shell  were  flying  around  the  Vizcaya  and 
Cristobal  Colon,  but  both  warships  kept  on  their 
way,  the  Colon  slowly  but  surely  forging  to  the 
front.  Both  Spanish  ships  were  returning  the 
Americans'  hot  fire,  and  many  a  shot  hit  the  Brook 
lyn  and  many  a  shell  burst  over  her  deck.  But 
as  yet  no  serious  damage  had  been  inflicted. 

But  a  calamity  was  at  hand,  as  rapid  in  its 
execution  as  it  was  appalling.  Near  the  forward 
eight-inch  turret  George  Ellis  was  standing,  watch 
ing  the  struggle  of  the  enemy's  ships  to  escape. 

"  Ellis,  give  us  the  range  again  !  "  shouted  Cap 
tain  Cook. 

"I'll  have  it  in  a  moment,  captain,"  answered 
the  chief  yeoman,  and  took  up  his  stadiometer. 
Making  his  calculation,  he  turned  to  Commodore 


THE   DESTRUCTION    OF    THE   SPANISH   FLEET      321 

Schley,  who  was  but  a  short  distance  away.  "  It 
is  fourteen  hundred  yards  to  the  Vizcaya,  sir," 
he  said. 

These  were  the  last  words  he  ever  uttered,  for 
an  instant  after  there  was  the  whistling  of  a 
shell,  and  those  standing  around  were  horrified  to 
see  Ellis's  headless  body  drop  to  the  deck  below. 
The  poor  fellow  had  been  killed  instantly,  in  the 
very  midst  of  his  duties.  What  a  shock  this  was 
to  those  about  him  I  will  leave  my  readers  to 
imagine.  Never  until  now  had  they  realized  what 
this  awful  war  meant.  "  Poor  Ellis,  he  was  such 
a  fine  man  !  "  murmured  one  comrade  as  he  turned 
away.  And  then  his  face  grew  even  more  sober. 
"  But  he's  the  first  on  board  of  this  ship.  What 
of  those  poor  Dons  yonder,  who  are  going  down 
by  the  wholesale  ? "  And  though  they  were  ene 
mies,  his  heart  beat  in  sympathy  for  the  poor 
wretches  who  were  struggling  madly  amid  shot, 
shell,  fire,  and  water  for  their  lives.  Fortunately 
the  Iowa  was  already  coming  to  the  succor  of  the 
defeated  ones. 

"  We're  going  to  catch  it  now,  lad,"  remarked 
Caleb  to  Walter,  as  he  pointed  through  a  rift  in 
the  cloud  of  smoke  hanging  over  the  gun.  "  There 


322  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

are  two  of  the  enemy's  ships,  and  they  are  both 
going  to  pound  us.  Where  in  the  world  are  our 
other  vessels  ?  " 

"  The  Oregon  is  coming  up  !  "  came  from  the 
after-deck,  a  minute  later.  "  And  the  Texas  isn't 
far  behind." 

Around  the  gun  it  was  suffocating,  and  every  hand 
was  ready  to  drop.  Indeed,  fainting  fits  were  fre 
quent,  but  the  most  that  could  be  done  for  a  sufferer 
was  to  either  throw  some  water  over  his  head  or  yell 
out  to  the  surgeons'  helpers  to  carry  the  men  to  the 
ward  room  for  treatment.  As  the  Brooklyn  was 
struck  here  and  there,  splinters  began  to  fly,  and  a 
number  were  injured,  although  no  one  seriously. 

The  Texas  had  done  wonderful  work  on  the 
Maria  Teresa  and  the  Oquendo,  and  iio\v  did  her 
best  to  keep  to  the  front  of  the  chase.  But  the 
speed  was  too  great  for  her,  and  gradually  she 
dropped  behind,  although  still  continuing  to  throw 
shot  and  shell  after  the  Vizcaya  that  had  dropped 
some  distance  behind  the  Colon.  It  was  now 
apparent  to  all  that  if  any  vessel  was  going  to 
get  away  it  was  to  be  the  Colon,  for  her  speed 
was  greater  than  the  Vizcaya  and  as  yet  she  had 
hardly  been  touched. 


THE   DESTRUCTION   OF   THE   SPANISH   FLEET      323 

"The  Vizcaya,  boys,  the  Vizcaya!"  came  the 
cry  from  the  quarterdeck.  "  Don't  let  her  screen 
the  Colon!" 

"  We'll  pound  'em  both  ! "  was  the  answer. 
"  Remember  the  Maine  f  Remember  Manila  Bay  !  " 

And  then  the  mighty  guns  of  the  Brooklyn  and 
Oregon  roared  out  swifter  than  ever,  and  the 
Vizcaya,  doing  her  best  to  sink  one  or  the  other 
of  the  American  warships,  was  raked  as  if  pass 
ing  through  a  blizzard  of  fire,  until  her  men  were 
forced  again  and  again  from  their  posts,  and  at 
last  the  guns  were  abandoned.  Then  fire  caught 
the  craft  in  its  awful  embrace,  and  rolling  from 
side  to  side,  she,  too,  sought  for  a  harbor  of 
refuge,  but  found  none.  Down  came  her  colors, 
and  at  the  same  instant  she  struck  with  a  crash 
on  the  rocks.  The  fight  had  started  at  quarter 
to  ten.  Now  it  was  but  quarter  past  eleven,  —  just 
an  hour  and  a  half,  —  and  all  the  Spanish  ships 
but  one  had  been  destroyed.  Such  is  the  appall 
ing  swiftness  of  modern  naval  warfare.  Where 
in  olden  days  jack  tars  had  fought  for  hours,  they 
now  fought  for  minutes. 

But  the  destruction  of  the  Vizcaya  had  taken 
time,  and  the  Colon  was  forging  onward,  panting 


324  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

and  throbbing  like  a  thing  of  life  trying  to  escape 
from  unspeakable  terrors.  Down  in  the  bowels  of 
the  warship  the  furnaces  were  at  a  white  heat,  and 
the  engineers  had  long  since  pushed  their  engines 
far  past  the  danger  point.  "Faster  !  faster  !  "  came 
the  cry  from  the  deck  and  tower.  "  It  will  be  better 
to  blow  up  than  to  allow  the  Yankee  pigs  to  sink 
us.  We  must  save  at  least  one  ship  !  "  And  the 
engines  pounded  and  quivered,  threatening  each 
instant  to  blow  into  a  million  pieces.  For  once  Don 
Quixote  was  making  the  run  of  his  life. 

Unable  to  stand  the  heat,  Walter  had  obtained 
permission  to  lay  off  for  a  few  minutes  and  get 
some  fresh  air.  A  look  from  the  spar  deck  had 
showed  him  the  Colon  dashing  far  ahead,  enveloped 
in  a  thin  line  of  smoke.  Every  few  seconds  a 
flash  of  fire  would  come  from  her  stern  guns,  but 
the  marksmanship  was  poor  and  no  serious  damage 
was  done  to  the  Brooklyn. 

The  boy  returned  to  his  gun  to  find  Caleb  and 
the  others  in  deep  perplexity.  Something  was 
wrong  with  a  shell,  and  it  had  become  wedged  in 
the  gun  and  could  not  be  pushed  forward  to  its 
proper  place  or  hauled  back.  "  We  can't  use 
Polly  any  more  !  "  groaned  Caleb. 


THE   DESTRUCTION    OF   THE   SPANISH   FLEET      325 

"  I'll  fix  her  !  "  cried  Si  Doring,  and  caught  up 
a  rammer.  In  a  moment  the  brave  Yankee  lad 
was  crawling  out  over  the  smoking  piece  toward 
the  muzzle.  But  he  had  scarcely  reached  the  out 
ward  end  of  the  gun  than  the  Brooklyn  gave  a 
lurch  and  down  he  slipped  over  the  side  and  into 
space  ! 


CHAPTER   XXX 

FINAL   SCENES   OF   THE   GKEAT   FIGHT 

"  Si  has  fallen  overboard  !  " 

The  cry  came  from  half  a  dozen  throats  at  once, 
and  Walter's  heart  almost  stopped  beating,  so  at 
tached  had  he  become  to  the  Yankee  lad. 

"  If  he's  overboard,  he'll  be  sucked  under  and 
drowned,"  he  groaned.  "  I  wonder  if  I  can  see 
anything  of  him." 

Without  a  second  thought  he  leaped  on  the  gun 
and  began  to  crawl  out,  on  hands  and  knees,  as 
perilous  a  thing  to  do,  with  the  vessel  going  at 
full  speed,  as  one  would  care  to  undertake. 

"  Come  back  !  "  roared  Caleb,  trying  to  detain 
him.  "  You'll  go  overboard,  too." 

At  that  moment  came  a  cry  from  below,  and 
looking  down  the  steel  side  of  the  Brooklyn,  Walter 
beheld  Si  clinging  to  a  rope  ladder,  one  of  several 
flung  over,  to  be  used  in  case  of  emergency.  "  Si, 
are  you  all  right  ?  "  he  called  loudly. 

"I  —  reckon  —  I  —  I  am,"  came  with  a  pant. 
326 


RAMMER  IN  HAND,  WALTER  EDGED  CLOSE  TO  THE  MCZZLE. 

Page  327 


FINAL   SCENES    OF    THE   GREAT   FIGHT  827 

"  But  I  had  an  awful  tumble  and  the  wind  is 
about  knocked  out  o'  me."  And  then  Si  began 
to  climb  up  to  the  deck. 

"  He's  on  the  ladder  and  he's  all  right,"  shouted 
Walter,  to  those  still  behind  the  gun.  Then  a 
sudden  idea  struck  him.  "  Hand  me  another 
rammer,  Stuben." 

"  Mine  cracious  !  don't  you  try  dot,"  cried  the 
hoseman.  "Yon  vos  fall  ofer  chust  like  Si." 

"  Yes,  come  in  here,"  put  in  Caleb,  and  Paul 
also  called  upon  him  to  return. 

"  I'm  all  right,"  was  the  boy's  reply.  "  Give  it 
to  me,  Stuben."  And  catching  the  rammer  from 
the  hoseman,  Steve  Colton  passed  it  forward.  "  In 
war  we  have  got  to  take  some  risks,"  he  reasoned, 
as  Caleb  gave  him  a  severe  look. 

"  Then  why  didn't  you  get  out  on  the  gun, 
Steve  ?  "  was  the  old  gunner's  dry  response  ;  and 
the  second  gun  captain  said  no  more. 

Rammer  in  hand,  Walter  edged  closer  and  closer 
to  the  muzzle  of  the  Polly.  The  Brooklyn,  was 
moving  up  and  down  over  the  long  green  waves, 
sending  the  spray  flying  on  both  sides  of  the  bow. 
He  gave  one  look  down,  felt  himself  growing  dizzy, 
and  then  kept  his  eyes  on  the  gun. 


328  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

At  last  the  muzzle  was  gained,  and  not  without 
difficulty  the  rammer  was  inserted.  The  projectile 
had  not  been  very  tightly  wedged,  and  a  firm 
pressure  sent  it  backward,  so  that  Caleb  could 
catch  it  and  pull  it  out  through  the  breech.  Then 
throwing  the  rammer  aboard,  Walter  lost  no  time 
in  coming  in  again.  He  had  been  exposed  to  the 
direct  fire  of  the  enemy,  but  no  shot  had  come 
near  him. 

"  Boy,  you're  too  plucky,"  exclaimed  Caleb,  catch 
ing  him  by  the  shoulder.  "  You  ought  to  be 
flogged  for  your  daring.  Let  me  see  your  hands. 
Ah,  just  as  I  thought  ;  both  of  'em  blistered.  Go 
and  put  some  sweet  oil  on  'em,  and  a  bit  of  flour. 
I'll  bet  the  end  of  Polly  is  red-hot." 

"  Well,  it  is  pretty  hot,"  replied  Walter,  and 
then  he  was  glad  enough  to  follow  Caleb's  advice, 
for  both  hands  smarted  a  good  deal.  Soon  Si 
joined  him,  to  get  something  for  his  hands  also. 

The  Colon  had  now  drawn  out  of  range,  so 
firing  would  have  been  a  useless  waste  of  ammu 
nition.  Down  to  the  gunners  came  the  order: 
"Cease  firing."  And  a  moment  later,  "All  hands 
on  deck  for  an  airing."  What  a  laughing  and 
shouting  ensued  as  the  jackies  poured  up,  to 


FINAL   SCENES    OF   THE   GREAT   FIGHT          329 

secure  the  best  viewing  places  they  could  within 
the  ship's  regulations.  Hot,  tired,  ready  to  drop 
from  exhaustion,  they  shook  hands  with  each 
other,  sang,  laughed,  and  whistled. 

"  Three  cheers  for  Commodore  Schley  !  "  came 
suddenly  from  somebody,  and  the  cheers  came 
with  vigor,  and  a  tiger,  and  then  came  a  cheer 
for  Captain  Cook  and  a  cheer  for  the  Oregon, 
coming  up  with  ever  increasing  speed.  The 
Oregon  s  men  cheered  in  return,  and  for  a  moment 
one  would  have  thought  this  was  holiday-making 
instead  of  grim  war. 

The  Colon  was  close  to  shore,  while  the  Brooklyn 
and  the  Oregon  lay  from  two  to  three  miles  out 
to  sea.  Some  miles  farther  westward  the  Cuban 
shore  slopes  southward  to  Cape  Cruz.  If  the 
Colon  kept  on  her  present  course  she  would  have 
to  make  for  the  cape,  thus  coming  down  toward 
the  American  warships.  "  We  will  catch  her 
there,"  said  Commodore  Schley,  confidently. 

The  Oregon  was  flying  the  signal  "  Remember  the 
Maine "  from  her  masthead,  and  as  she  drew  still 
closer  to  the  Brooklyn,  another  shout  of  approval 
went  up.  The  two  warships  would  fight  the  Colon 
between  them,  if  only  they  could  get  within  range. 


330  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

It  was  now  noontime,  and  a  hasty  mess  was 
served  all  around,  and  the  men  continued  to  air 
themselves,  something  easy  to  do  with  the  pon 
derous  ship  speeding  the  waters  at  an  eighteen- 
knot  rate.  Suddenly  from  the  Oregon  came  the 
boom  of  a  thirteen-inch  gun,  and  the  shell  fell 
just  astern  of  the  Colon,  sending  the  water  up 
like  a  fountain.  The  battle  was  again  on. 

"  Now  for  it !  "  cried  Caleb,  as  the  Spanish  war 
ship  turned  southward  down  the  coast,  and  the 
Polly  spoke  up  as  fiercely  as  at  any  time  during 
the  contest. 

"  The  Spaniards  are  losing  heart !  "  came  the  cry, 
a  few  minutes  later.  "  They  ain't  doing  half  the 
firing  they  were  !  " 

It  was  true  ;  the  Colon  was  running  short  of 
ammunition,  and  her  officers  saw  what  a  hopeless 
fight  a  contest  with  the  Brooklyn  and  Oregon 
would  prove  to  be.  With  shot  and  shell  falling 
all  around  him,  Captain  Moreu  hauled  down  his 
flag  and  sent  his  ship  ashore  at  Rio  Tarquino. 

The  battle  was  won,  and  Dewey's  magnificent 
victory  at  Manila,  which  the  world  in  general  had 
declared  was  a  miracle  that  could  not  be  matched, 
had  been  duplicated.  Henceforth  American  war- 


FINAL   SCENES    OF   THE   GREAT   FIGHT  331 

ships  and  American  sailors  would  stand  as  the 
equals  of  any  nation  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

And  now  that  the  contest  was  over  what  was  to 
follow  ?  To  me,  the  hours  that  came  after  are  even 
greater  in  honor  than  those  glorious  hours  of  victory. 
Already  down  the  shore,  the  work  of  rescuing  the 
sailors  and  marines  from  the  Maria  Teresa,  Oquendo, 
and  Vizcaya  had  begun,  and  now  the  crews  of  the 
Brooklyn  and  Oregon  turned  in  to  aid  the  wounded 
and  the  dying,  and  those  in  danger  of  drowning,  on 
the  Colon.  Boat  after  boat  went  out,  close  to  the 
sinking  cruiser,  now  burning  fiercely,  with  aban 
doned  guns  going  off,  loose  powder  and  shells  ex 
ploding,  and  magazines  in  danger  of  tearing  all 
asunder.  Amid  such  perils  did  our  noble  jackies 
work,  hauling  man  after  man  from  the  ship,  or  from 
the  water,  and  taking  them  to  our  own  warships, 
there  to  be  cared  for  as  tenderly  as  though  they 
were  our  own.  Some  of  the  Spaniards  could  not 
understand  this  treatment.  They  had  been  told 
that  the  Americans  were  butchers  and  had  no  hearts, 
and  when  they  realized  the  truth  many  burst  into 
tears  of  joy. 

When  the  battle  was  all  over,  some  of  our  officers 
and  men  could  not  comprehend  what  had  been 


332  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

accomplished  —  that  a  whole  fleet  of  Spanish  war 
ships  had  been  destroyed,  that  hundreds  of  men  had 
been  killed  and  many  more  wounded  and  taken  pris 
oners,  and  that  the  loss  to  our  side  had  been  but  one 
man  killed,  a  handful  wounded,  and  no  ship  seriously 
damaged.  "  It  was  an  act  of  Providence,"  said  more 
than  one,  and  Captain  Philip  of  the  Texas  spoke 
thus  to  his  crew,  as  he  gathered  all  around  him  on 
this  never-to-be-forgotten  Sunday,  so  bright  and 
clear  :  — 

"  I  wish  to  make  confession  that  I  have  implicit 
faith  in  God  and  in  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
Texas,  but  my  faith  in  you  is  only  secondary  to  my 
faith  in  God.  We  have  seen  what  He  has  done  for 
us,  in  allowing  us  to  achieve  so  great  a  victory,  and 
I  want  to  ask  all  of  you,  or  at  least  every  man  who 
has  no  scruples,  to  uncover  his  head  with  me  and 
silently  offer  a  word  of  thanks  to  God  for  His  good 
ness  toward  us  all."  The  thanks  were  given,  some 
dropping  upon  their  knees  to  deliver  them,  and  this 
outpouring  of  hearts  travelled  from  one  ship  to 
another  throughout  the  entire  fleet. 

"Poor  Ellis  !  "  said  Walter;  "the  only  seaman  to 
give  up  his  life!  It's  too  bad!  "  And  when  George 
Ellis's  body  was  buried  with  all  naval  honors  he  wept 


FINAL   SCENES    OF    THE    GEEAT    FIGHT          333 

as  bitterly  as  did  anybody  on  board  of  the  flag 
ship. 

The  victory  had  been  gained,  but  the  work  of  the 
fleet  was  not  yet  over.  The  army  still  occupied  the 
outskirts  of  Santiago,  and  General  Shafter  had  sent 
word  to  General  Toral  that  unless  he  surrendered, 
the  city  would  be  shelled  Monday  morning.  At  a 
conference  with  Admiral  Sampson,  later  on,  it  was 
decided  that  the  fleet  should  take  part  in  the  bom 
bardment  even  if  it  was  necessary  to  force  an 
entrance  into  the  harbor.  Without  delay  our  war 
ships  were  gotten  into  condition  for  this  task. 

But  the  bombardment  did  not  come  —  for  the 
reason  that  both  on  land  and  sea  the  enemy  had  had 
enough  of  fighting.  Several  days  passed,  and  the 
conditions  of  a  surrender  were  discussed.  In  the 
meantime  Lieutenant  Hobson  and  his  men  were 
released  and  turned  over  to  us  in  exchange  for  a 
number  of  Spanish  prisoners.  Several  of  the  men 
remembered  seeing  Walter,  and  were  glad  to  learn 
that  the  youth  had  escaped. 

The  battle  on  sea  had  taken  place  on  July  the 
third,  and  my  readers  can  imagine  what  a  glorious 
Fourth  of  July  followed,  not  only  among  the  sol 
diers  and  sailors,  but  among  our  people  at  large. 


334  FIGHTING    IN   CUBAN    WATERS 

All  over  the  land  cannons  boomed,  pistols  cracked, 
rockets  flared,  bells  pealed  forth,  and  bands  played 
for  the  marching  of  thousands.  It  was  a  real  old- 
fashioned  "Yankee  Doodle  time,"  as  one  down-east 
paper  put  it,  and  North,  South,  East,  and  West 
united  in  celebrating  as  never  before.  Less  than 
two  weeks  later  Santiago  surrendered,  a  peace  pro 
tocol  followed ;  and  the  war  with  Spain  came  to  an 
end. 


CHAPTER   XXXI 

TOGETHER    ONCE   MORE  —  CONCLUSION 

"Axo  now  that  business  is  finished,  an'  I'm 
most  awfully  glad  on  it ;  yes,  I  am !  " 

It  was  Job  Dowling  who  spoke.  The  uncle  and 
guardian  of  the  three  Russell  boys  was  sitting  by 
the  side  window  of  his  home  in  Buffalo.  In  his  lap 
lay  a  small,  flat  package,  which  had  been  wrapped 
in  heavy  brown  paper  and  well  sealed.  In  his  hand 
was  an  open  letter  which  he  had  just  finished 
reading. 

"  It  was  a  dreadful  price  to  pay  thet  detective," 
he  resumed.  "  But  I  couldn't  git  them  hairlooms 
back  no  other  way,  and  I'm  afraid  the  boys  would 
raise  the  roof  ef  I  didn't  git  'em  back.  It's  a  com 
fort  to  know  thet  thief  was  caught  and  is  going 
to  be  tried  for  even  a  wuss  crime  than  stealin' 
them  rings  an'  the  watch  an'  the  Australian  dia 
mond.  I  hope  they  give  him  about  twenty  years 
in  prison."  He  paused  to  put  the  package  away 

335 


336  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

in  his  dilapidated  secretary.  "  So  Ben  is  coming 
home  this  week?  I  wonder  what  he'll  have  to 
say  when  he  faces  me  ?  Somehow,  I  don't  know 
wot  I'm  going  to  say  myself."  And  he  dropped 
into  his  chair  again. 

Job  Dowling  was  a  different  man  from  what  he 
had  been.  The  determined  stand  taken  by  Larry, 
Walter,  and  Ben  had  opened  his  eyes  to  the  knowl 
edge  that  he  had  no  mere  children  to  deal  with, 
but  boys  who  were  almost  men,  and  who  were  fully 
capable  of  taking  care  of  themselves.  His  visit  to 
New  York,  when  he  was  robbed  of  the  Russell 
heirlooms,  had  caused  him  considerable  loss  of  self- 
confidence,  and  the  trip  to  Boston  after  the  thief 
had  awakened  him  to  the  fact  that,  after  all,  he 
was  of  but  little  importance  in  this  world.  His 
efforts  to  help  the  police  recover  the  heirlooms 
had  been  laughed  at,  and  even  the  detective  had 
shown  him  plainly  that  he  was  hindering  more 
than  he  was  helping.  Finally  he  had  returned 
home  in  disgust,  and  the  detective  had  finished 
the  work  on  the  case  alone,  recovered  everything, 
and  sent  Deck  Mumpers  to  jail  to  stand  trial  on 
half  a  dozen  charges.  The  detective's  bill  had 
been  over  two  hundred  dollars,  a  sum  the  paying 


TOGETHER  ONCE  MOKE  —  CONCLUSION    33T 

of  which  had  nearly  given  Job  Dowling  a  fit ;  but 
now  the  whole  thing  was  settled  and  he  was  await 
ing  Ben's  return,  for  the  gallant  young  volunteer  had 
been  shot  in  the  left  arm  on  the  day  before  Santiago 
surrendered,  and  was  coming  home  on  sick  leave. 

Ding  !  ding  !  it  was  a  double  ring  at  the  front 
door  bell,  and  before  Mrs.  Graham,  the  new  house 
keeper,  and  a  great  improvement  on  the  tartar-like 
Mrs.  Raiferty,  could  get  to  the  door,  Job  Dowling 
was  there  himself. 

"  Ben  an'  Walter  !  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  found 
himself  confronted  by  two  nephews  instead  of  one, 
as  expected.  "Well — er,  how  is  this?" 

"  How  do  you  do,  Uncle  Job !  "  exclaimed  Ben, 
extending  his  hand. 

"Aren't  you  glad  to  see  me  too,  Uncle  Job?" 
put  in  Walter. 

"  Why — er — of  course,  of  course  !  "  came  with  a 
stammer ;  and  Job  Dowling  held  out  both  of  his 
bony  hands.  "  Come  right  in.  This  is  Mrs.  Gra 
ham,  my  new  workwoman."  And  the  lady  of  the 
house,  dressed  in  a  neat  wrapper  and  with  a  clean 
kitchen  apron  on,  came  forward  and  bowed. 
"  Knows  a  sight  more  than  Mrs.  Rafferty  did," 
went  on  the  uncle,  in  a  whisper. 


338  FIGHTING    IX    CUBAN    WATERS 

"  I  didn't  know  Walter  was  coming  on  till  day 
before  yesterday,"  continued  Ben.  "•  We  met  quite 
by  accident  in  New  York,  and  we  made  up  to 
come  on  together  and  surprise  you." 

"I  see  —  I  see."  Job  Bowling  was  still  very 
nervous,  and  he  could  hardly  tell  why.  At  one 
instant  he  thought  he  ought  to  quarrel  with  them, 
the  next  that  it  would  be  quite  proper  to  embrace 
them  and  tell  them  they  were  forgiven  and  could 
henceforth  do  as  they  saw  proper.  But  he  chose 
a  middle  course  and  did  neither.  "  Sit  down  and 
make  yourselves  to  hum,  and,  Mrs.  Graham,  you 
had  best  get  a  few  extry  chops  —  three  won't  be 
enough.  Tell  Boggs  to  send  me  the  best  on  the 
stand." 

At  this  order  Walter  nudged  Ben,  and  both 
looked  at  each  other  and  smiled.  "  He's  reform 
ing,"  whispered  the  young  sailor.  "  Only  give 
him  time,  and  he'll  be  all  right." 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Dowling,"  put  in  the  housekeeper. 
"  And  you  said  something  about  pie  yesterday, 
when  Master  Ben  should  come.  What  of  that?" 

"Ah,  yes,  so  I  did,  so  I  did.*'  The  former 
miser  wrinkled  his  brow.  "  How  much  does  a 
pie  cost  ?  " 


TOGETHER  ONCE  MORE  —  CONCLUSION    339 

"  Ten  and  twenty  cents." 

"  Boys,  do  you  think  you  could  eat  a  twenty- 
cent  pie  ?  " 

"  Do  we?"  cried  Walter.  "Just  try  us  and 
see,  Uncle  Job."  And  now  he  clasped  his  guardian 
half  affectionately  by  the  shoulder. 

"  Then  get  the  twenty-cent  pie,  Mrs.  Graham, 
and  be  sure  an'  pick  out  the  best.  You  —  er  — 
have  the  other  things  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  —  potatoes,  green  corn,  and  coffee." 

"Very  good."  And  as  the  housekeeper  retired, 
Job  Dowling  turned  to  the  boys  again.  "  And  how 
is  your  arm,  Ben  ?  Not  seriously  hurt,  I  trust  ?  " 

"  It's  only  a  scratch,"  was  the  answer. 

"And  you,  Walter?" 

"  I'm  all  right.  But  how  have  you  been,  Uncle 
Job,  and  what  of  that  stolen  stuff  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I'm  only  tolerable  —  got  quite  some  rheuma 
tism.  The  hairlooms  is  all  safe  —  but  they  cost 
me  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  dollars  an'  a 
half  to  git  'em !  "  And  the  guardian  nodded  to 
emphasize  his  words. 

"Well,  they're  worth  it,"  answered  Ben,  promptly  ; 
and  Job  Dowling  did  not  dare  dispute  the  asser 
tion.  "  Where  are  they  ?  " 


340  FIGHTING   IN    CUBAN    WATERS 

"In  the  desk.  I'll  show  'em  to  you,  and  then 
ye  can  both  tell  me  all  about  yer  adventures  on 
the  water  and  in  Cuby. " 

The  heirlooms  had  just  been  brought  out,  and 
Ben  was  examining  the  watch,  when  a  form  dark 
ened  the  window  opening,  —  the  form  of  a  boy 
dressed  in  a  natty  sailor  suit.  All  looked  up  in 
wonder,  and  all  cried  out  in  unison :  — 

"  Larry  !  " 

"  Ben,  Walter,  and  Uncle  Job  !  "  came  from  the 
youth  who  had  fought  so  gallantly  under  Uewey 
at  Manila.  "  Here's  a  family  gathering,  for  sure  !  " 
And  with  a  light  leap  he  cleared  the  window-sill 
and  actually  fell  into  his  brothers'  arms,  while  Job 
Dowling  looked  on  with  a  half  smile  on  his  wrinkled 
face. 

"  I  couldn't  remain  away  from  the  United  States 
any  longer,"  explained  Larry,  when,  an  hour  after, 
all  sat  down  to  the  really  excellent  dinner  Job 
Dowling  had  provided.  "While  I  was  at  Hong 
Kong  I  got  a  good  chance  to  ship  on  a  steamer 
for  San  Francisco,  and  we  came  home  on  the  double- 
quick,  for  the  government  had  chartered  the  vessel 
to  carry  troops  to  the  Philippines.  Maybe  I'll  go 
back  under  Dewey  some  time,  but  not  just  yet. 


TOGETHER  ONCE  MOKE  —  CONCLUSION    341 

I've   got  some  prize  money  coming  to  me,  I  don't 
know  yet  how  much,  and  I'll  lie  off  to  see." 

"  And  I've  got  prize  money  coming,  too,"  added 
Walter.  "  I  like  the  navy  first-rate,  and  shall  stick 
to  it  for  the  present,  even  if  I  have  a  chance  of 
being  mustered  out." 

"  I  haven't  any  prize  money  coming,  but  I  am 
to  be  a  second  lieutenant  of  volunteers,"  put  in 
Ben.  "  Our  regiment  is  to  be  mustered  out  very 
soon,  and  then  I'm  going  to  try  for  something 
else  in  the  same  line." 

"  And  what  is  that,  Ben  ? "  asked  Job  Dowling 
and  the  other  boys  together. 

"  I'm  going  to  try  for  a  commission  in  the  regular 
army." 

"  Hurrah  !  that's  the  talk  !  "  came  from  Larry. 
"  And  if  you  stay  in  the  army,  I'll  see  what  I  can 
do  toward  working  my  way  up  in  the  navy." 

Then  both  lads  looked  toward  their  guardian. 
Job  Dowling  scratched  his  chin  in  perplexity,  and 
cleared  his  throat. 

"All  right,  boys — I  should  say  young  men,  fer 
ye  ain't  none  o'  ye  boys  no  more  —  go  an'  do  as  ye- 
please,  I  ain't  got  nothin'  agin'  it.  You  have  all 
done  yer  duty  to  Uncle  Sam,  'an'  thet  bein'  so,  it 


342  FIGHTING   IN   CUBAN   WATERS 

stands  to  reason  ye  are  capable  o'  doin'  yer  duty  to 
yerselves  an'  to  me.  To  look  back  it  'pears  to  me 
thet  I  made  some  kind  of  a  mistake  at  the  start  with 
ye,  an'  so  I  say,  you  willin'  an'  me  willin',  we'll  take 
a  fresh  start,  —  an'  there's  my  hand  on't." 

"Uncle  Job,  you're  a  —  a  brick!"  came  from 
Walter,  and  a  general  handshaking  followed,  and 
then,  as  Mrs.  Graham  came  on  with  a  coffee-pot  and 
the  dessert,  Ben  arose  with  the  cup  in  his  hand. 

"  Boys,  let  us  drink  Uncle  Job's  health  in  a  cup 
of  coffee !  " 

"  We  will !  "  came  from  his  brothers. 

"  And  eat  it,  too,  —  in  a  piece  of  that  pie  !  "  con 
cluded  the  ever-lighthearted  Larry. 

Here  we  will  bring  to  a  close  the  story  of  Walter 
Russell's  adventures  while  "  Fighting  in  Cuban 
Waters,"  which  has  taken  us  through  a  thrilling 
naval  campaign  and  shown  us  what  true  American 
pluck  can  accomplish  even  under  the  most  trying 
circumstances. 

As  my  readers  know,  the  Russell  boys  had  a 
large  inheritance  coming  to  them,  and  now  that 
Job  Dowling  had  come  to  his  senses  regarding  a 
proper  treatment  of  them,  it  was  to  be  hoped  that 


TOGETHER,  ONCE  MOKE — CONCLUSION    343 

matters  would  move  much  more  smoothly  for  all 
concerned. 

Through  Larry  it  was  learned  that  his  old-time 
friend,  Luke  Striker,  was  still  with  Dewey  in 
Philippine  waters  and  had  been  promoted  to  the 
position  of  first  gun-captain  on  board  the  Olympia, 
much  to  the  old  Yankee's  credit  and  delight. 

Frank  Bulkley,  Ben's  soldier  chum,  was  still 
sick  with  the  fever,  but  was  at  his  home  in  the 
metropolis,  and  was  out  of  danger,  which  was  much 
to  be  thankful  for,  considering  what  awful  havoc 
that  fever  had  made  with  the  army  of  invasion. 

Walter's  friends  were  all  on  the  Brooklyn,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  the  lad  was  anxious  to  get 
back  to  them,  for  he  had  become  very  much  attached 
to  the  noble  flagship  that  had  rendered  such  a  good 
account  of  herself  in  the  mighty  conflict  with 
Cervera's  fleet. 

Gilbert  Pennington,  Ben's  friend  of  the  Rough 
Riders,  was  in  Cuba,  but  expected  to  come  north 
shortly.  Gilbert  had  an  offer  of  a  position  as  book 
keeper  with  an  importing  firm  in  New  York,  but 
was  destined  to  see  a  good  deal  more  of  fighting 
ere  he  settled  to  work  behind  a  desk. 

When  Ben  spoke  of  trying  for  a  commission,  and 


344  FIGHTING    IN    CUBAN    WATEKS 

Larry  said  lie  should  remain  in  the  navy,  both 
thought  that  fighting  for  the  American  army  and 
navy  was  at  an  end.  This  supposition  was  correct 
so  far  as  Spain  was  concerned,  but  the  insurgents  in 
the  Philippines  under  General  Aguinaldo  refused 
to  recognize  Uncle  Sam's  authority,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  a  large  army  had  to  be  sent  to  Manila 
and  other  points,  to  cooperate  with  Dewey  in  re 
storing  peace  and  order.  Ben  could -not  resist  the 
temptation  to  join  these  soldiers  in  a  distant  clime, 
and  with  more  fighting  in  view,  Larry  hastened  to 
rejoin  the  Olympia.  In  another  volume,  to  be  en 
titled,  "  Under  Otis  in  the  Philippines;  Or,  A 
Young  Officer  in  the  Tropics,"  we  shall  follow  the 
future  adventures  of  these  two  brothers,  and  shall 
also  see  more  of  Gilbert  Pennington,  Luke  Striker, 
and  several  others  of  our  old  acquaintances. 

And  now,  for  the  time  being,  good-by  to  all  our 
friends,  and  especially  to  Walter  Russell,  the  Ameri 
can  lad  who  made  such  a  record  for  pluck  Avhile, 
"Fighting  in  Cuban  Waters," 


THE   OLD   GLORY   SERIES. 

By  EDWARD  STRATEMEYER, 

Author  of  "The  Bound  to  Succeed  Series,"  "  The  Ship  and  Shore  Series,"  etc, 
Three  Volumes.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    Price  per  volume,  $1.25. 


UNDER   DEWEY  AT    MANILA  Or  the  War  Fortunes  of 

a  Castaway. 
A  YOUNG  VOLUNTEER  IN  CUBA  Or  Fighting  for  the 

Single  Star. 
FIGHTING  IN  CUBAN  WATERS  Or  Under  Schiey  on 

the  Brooklyn. 

PRESS  NOTICES. 

"  '  Under  Dewey  at  Manila*  is  a  thoroughly  timely  book,  in  perfect  sympathy  with 
the  patriotism  of  the  day.  Its  title  is  conducive  to  its  perusing,  and  its  reading  to 
anticipation.  For  the  volume  is  but  the  first  of  the  Old  Glory  Series,  and  the  im 
print  is  that  of  the  famed  firm  of  Lee  and  Shepard,  whose  name  has  been  for  so  many 
years  linked  with  the  publications  of  Oliver  Optic.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  story  is 
right  in  line  with  the  productions  of  that  gifted  and  most  fascinating  of  authors,  and 
certainly  there  is  every  cause  for  congratulation  that  the  stirring  events  of  our  recent 
war  are  not  to  lose  their  value  for  instruction  through  that  valuable  school  which  the 
late  William  T.  Adams  made  so  individually  distinctive. 

"  Edward  Stratemeyer,  who  is  the  author  of  the  present  work,  has  proved  an  extra 
ordinarily  apt  scholar,  and  had  the  book  appeared  anonymously  there  could  hardly 
have  failed  of  a  unanimous  opinion  that  a  miracle  had  enabled  the  writer  of  the 
famous  Army  and  Navy  and  other  series  to  resume  his  pen  for  the  volume  in  hand. 
Mr.  Stratemeyer  has  acquired  in  a  wonderfully  successful  degree  the  knack  of  writ 
ing  an  interesting  educational  story  which  will  appeal  to  the  young  people,  and  the 
plan  of  his  trio  of  books  as  outlined  cannot  fail  to  prove  both  interesting  and  valu 
able."  —  Boston  Ideas. 

"  Stratemeyer's  style  suits  the  boys."  —  JOHN  TERHUNE,  Supt.  of  Public  Instruc 
tion,  Bergen  Co.,  New  Jersey. 

"  '  The  Young  Volunteer  in  Cuba,"  the  second  of  the  Old  Glory  Series,  is  better 
than  the  first;  perhaps  it  traverses  more  familiar  ground.  Ben  Russell,  the  brother 
of  Larry,  who  was  '  with  Dewey,'  enlists  with  the  volunteers  and  goes  to  Cuba, 
where  he  shares  in  the  abundance  of  adventure  and  has  a  chance  to  show  his  courage 
and  honesty  and  manliness,  which  win  their  reward.  A  good  book  for  boys,  giving 
a  good  deal  of  information  in  a  most  attractive  form."  —  Universalist  Leader. 


For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  sent,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price  by 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers, 

BOSTON. 


THE  BOUND  TO  SUCCEED  SERIES 

By   EDWARD   STRATEHEYER, 

Author  of  "Under  Dewey  at  Manila"  etc. 

Three  Volumes.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    Price  per  volume,  $1.00. 


RICHARD  DARE'S   VENTURE  Or  Striking  Out  for 

Himself. 
OLIVER  BRIGHT'S  SEARCH  Or  The  Mystery  of 

a  Mine. 
TO  ALASKA  FOR  GOLD  Or  The  Fortune  Hunters 

Of   the   Yukon.     (In  press.) 


PRESS  OPINIONS   OF  EDWARD   STRATEMEYER'S  BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG 
PEOPLE. 

"  In  '  Richard  Dare's  Venture,'  Edward  Stratemeyer  has  fully  sustained  his  repu 
tation  as  an  entertaining,  helpful,  and  instructive  writer  for  boys." — Philadelphia 
Call. 

"  '  Richard  Dare's  Venture,'  by  Edward  Stratemeyer,  tells  the  story  of  a  country 
lad  who  goes  to  New  York  to  earn  enough  to  support  his  widowed  mother  and 
orphaned  sisters.  Richard's  energy,  uprightness  of  character,  and  good  sense  carry 
him  through  some  trying  experiences,  and  gain  him  friends." — The  Churchman, 
New  York. 

"A  breezy  boy's  book  is  '  Oliver  Bright's  Search."  The  author  has  a  direct,  graphic 
style,  and  every  healthy  minded  youth  will  enjoy  the  volume." — N.  Y.  Commercial 
Advertiser. 

"  '  Richard  Dare's  Venture  '  is  a  fresh,  wholesome  book  to  put  into  a  boy's  hands." 
—  St.  Louis  Post  Dispatch. 

"  '  Richard  Dare's  Venture  '  is  a  wholesome  story  of  a  practical  boy  who  made  a 
way  for  himself  when  thrown  upon  his  own  resources." — Christian  Advocate. 

"It  is  such  books  as 'Richard  Dare's  Venture'  that  are  calculated  to  inspire 
young  readers  with  a  determination  to  succeed  in  life,  and  to  choose  some  honorable 
walk  in  which  to  find  that  success.  The  author,  Edward  Stratemeyer,  has  shown  a 
judgment  that  is  altogether  top  rare  in  the  makers  of  books  for  boys,  in  that  he  has 
avoided  that  sort  of  heroics  in  the  picturing  of  the  life  of  his  hero  which  deals  in 
adventures  of  the  daredevil  sort.  In  that  respect  alone  the  book  commends  itself  to 
the  favor  of  parents  who  have  a  regard  for  the  education  of  their  sons,  but  the  story 
is  sufficiently  enlivening  and  often  thrilling  to  satisfy  the  healthful  desires  of  the 
young  reader." — Kansas  City  Star. 

"  Of  standard  writers  of  boys'  stories  there  is  quite  a  list,  but  those  who  have  not 
read  any  by  Edward  Stratemeyer  have  missed  a  very  goodly  thing." — Boston  Ideas. 


For  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  sent,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  Price  bjf 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers, 
BOSTON. 


BOOKS    BY 

EVERETT    T.    TOMLINSON 


THE    WAR    OF    1812    SERIES 

By    EVERETT   T.    TOMLINSON       Cloth 
Illustrated     Per  volume  $1.50 

COMPRISING 

The  Search  for  Andrew  Field 

The  Boy  Soldiers  of  1812 

The  Boy  Officers  of  1812 
Tecumseh's  Young  Braves 

Guarding  the  Border 

The  Boys  with  Old  Hickory 

Mr.  Tomlinson,  who  knows  the  "  ins  and  outs  "  of  boy  nature  by  heart, 
is  one  of  the  most  entertaining  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  in 
structive  of  living  writers  of  juvenile  fiction.  In  his  younger  days  a 
teacher  by  profession,  he  has  made  boys  and  their  idiosyncrasies  the  ab 
sorbing  study  of  his  life,  and,  with  the  accumulated  experience  of  years  to 
aid  him,  has  applied  himself  to  the  task  of  preparing  for  their  mental 
delectation  a  diet  that  shall  be  at  once  wholesome  and  attractive;  and  that 
his  efforts  in  this  laudable  direction  have  been  successful  is  conclusively 
proven  by  his  popularity  among  boy  readers. 

LIBRARY    OF    HEROIC   EVENTS 

STORIES    OF    THE    AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 

First  Series 

By    EVERETT    T.    TOMLINSON       Cloth 
Illustrated       $1.00 

STORIES    OF    THE    AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 

Second  Series 

By    EVERETT    T.    TOMLINSON       Cloth 
Illustrated     Si.oo 

Sold  by  all  booksellers  and  sent  prepaid  on  receipt  of  price 


LEE    AND    SHEPARD    Publishers    Boston 


OLIVER    OPTIC'S    BOOKS 


All-Over-the- World  Library.    By  OLIVER  OPTIC.    First  Series, 

Illustrated.     Price  per  volume,   $1.25. 

1.  A  Missing  Million ;  OR,  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  Louis   BELGRADE. 

2.  A  Millionaire   at  Sixteen;   OK,  THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  "GUARDIAN 

MOTHER." 

3.  A  Young  Knight  Errant;  OR,  CRUISING  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES. 

4.  Strange  Sights  Abroad;  OR,  ADVENTURES  IN  EUROPEAN  WATERS. 

No  author  has  come  before  the  public  during  the  present  generation  who 
has  achieved  a  larger  and  more  deserving  popularity  among  young  people  than 
"  Oliver  Optic."  His  stories  have  been  very  numerous,  but  they  have  been 
uniformly  excellent  in  moral  tone  and  literary  quality.  As  indicated  in  the 
general  title,  it  is  the  author's  intention  to  conduct  the  readers  of  this  enter 
taining  series  "  around  the  world."  As  a  means  to  this  end,  the  hero  of  the 
story  purchases  a  steamer  which  he  names  the  "  Guardian  Mother,"  and 
with  a  number  of  guests  she  proceeds  on  her  voyage.  —  Christian  Work,  N.  Y. 

A.ll-Over-the- World   Library.      By  OLIVER  OPTIC.     Second 

Series.     Illustrated.     Price  per  volume,  $1.25. 

1.  American  Boys  Afloat;    OR,  CRUISING  IN  THE  ORIENT. 

2.  The    Young    Navigators ;     OK,    THE    FOREIGN    CRUISE     OF    THK 

"  MAUD." 

3.  Tip  and  Down  the  Mile  ;   OR,  YOUNG  ADVENTURERS  IN  AFRICA. 

4.  Asiatic  Breezes  ;  OR,  STUDENTS  ON  THE  WING. 

The  interest  in  these  stories  is  continuous,  and  there  is  a  great  variety  or 
exciting  incident  woven  into  the  solid  information  which  the  book  imparts  so 
generously  and  without  the  slightest  suspicion  of  dryness.  Manly  boys 
will  welcome  this  volume  as  cordially  as  they  did  its  predecessors.  —  Boston 
Gazette. 

All-Over-the- World  Library.    By  OLIVER  OPTIC.    Third  Se 
ries.     Illustrated.     Price  per  volume,  $1.25. 

1.  Across  India;  OR,  LIVE  BOYS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST. 

St.  Half  Round  the  World  ;  OR,  AMONG  THE  UNCIVILIZED. 

3.  Four  Young  Explorers  ;  OR,  SIGHT-SEEING  IN  THE  TROPICS. 

4.  Pacific  Shores ;  OR,  ADVENTURES  IN  EASTERN  SEAS. 

Amid  such  new  and  varied  surroundings  it  would  be  surprising  indeed  if  the 
author,  with  his  faculty  of  making  even  the  commonplace  attractive,  did  not 
tell  an  intensely  interesting  story  of  adventure,  as  well  as  give  much  informa 
tion  in  regard  to  the  distant  countries  through  which  our  friends  pass,  and 
the  strange  peoples  with  whom  they  are  brought  in  contact.  This  book,  and 
indeed  the  whole  series,  is  admirably  adapted  to  reading  aloud  in  the  family 
circle,  each  volume  containing  matter  which  will  interest  all  the  members  of 
the  family.  —  Boston  Budget. 

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